


A Halo Sent to Hell

by Islandboy



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Akward nerds, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, But they're unimportant - Freeform, Cannibalism, Drinking, F/F, F/M, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, How Do I Tag, M/M, Multi, OCs - Freeform, Other, Panic Attacks, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Tag As I Go, Violence, Vomiting, We Hate Valentino Club, gender neutral reader, reader has a nickname, reader is an angel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:22:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 77,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22484836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Islandboy/pseuds/Islandboy
Summary: After death, you come into the Holy Kingdom in the clouds. But once you find out about some sort of "annual cleansing" of demons, you resolve to find a better way to help the souls in Hell. Once you get down there, you meet some friendly, as well as not-so-friendly, demons with a rehabilitating hotel! Will you be able to help the troubled souls? And will you find "the one" while you're in the Underworld?
Relationships: Alastor (Hazbin Hotel) & Reader, Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel) & Reader, Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Charlie (Hazbin Hotel) & Reader, Charlie (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Husk (Hazbin Hotel) & Reader, Husk (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Niffty (Hazbin Hotel) & Reader, Niffty (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel) & Reader, Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader
Comments: 240
Kudos: 523





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [My Darling Angel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22091116) by [LunarLupus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarLupus/pseuds/LunarLupus). 



> Hi, sorry this first chapter is all build-up stuff. There probably won't be any interaction between you and the gang til chapter 2 or 3. But don't worry! We'll get there!

White.

That’s the first thing you see when you open your eyes. As you begin to arise from your slumber, the blue sky and blazing sun also find their way into your vision. The scenery gives you a calming sense before you realize your situation: you had no idea where you were. Nothing around looked like your home, so how did you get here? Panic begins setting in your mind as you try to find any memories that could explain why you were here. Then it hits you. Suddenly, in a single moment, you recall the reasoning behind your predicament: you were dead.

You can feel yourself go pale, unable to fully accept that you had passed on. Even though you remember every vivid detail of your death, it still felt unbelievable. You give yourself a quick pinch on the arm just to check if it was a dream, but no such luck. This was real. You died. But soon, you realize something. If you’re seeing white all around, does that mean you made it to Heaven? You were at least able to find solace knowing that. You’d be able to see family and friends that also crossed the rainbow bridge! Just thinking about all the faithful reunions that would come makes you perk up. Maybe you would feel happy being in the afterlife after all.

“Oh good, you’re finally up,” you hear someone say behind you, pulling you out of your thoughts. A woman walks towards you, a gentle smile worn on her face. The lady wore all white, complementing her golden hair. Her most distinguishable features, however, were what caught your immediate attention: large, pearl-white wings on her back and a halo which hovered above her hair. She was the true embodiment of an angel.

“Welcome to the Golden Gates! I’m Miranda, and I’m here to guide you through your new home!” she says in a cheerful voice.

“M-my new home?” you ask with a shocked expression. “So, I’m going to Heaven?!” you can’t hold back the sheer joy in your voice.

She chuckles a bit. “Of course, you are. We _are_ standing on the clouds, aren’t we?”

You look down to your feet, and, low-and-behold, you were walking on clouds. “Huh, I guess we are, haha,” you say a bit embarrassed. How did you not notice that sooner? “Oh wait!” you suddenly realize, “I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m—"

“I know,” Miranda interrupts, surprising you by saying your name before you can utter it out. “Don’t worry, it’s my job to know everyone that comes to enter Heaven. I introduce every new angel to our world.”

“Huh,” you respond lamely. You scratch your head awkwardly, but then you feel something odd on your back, or, more appropriately, you don’t feel _anything_ at all. Not even angel wings. “H-hey, if I’m an angel, don’t I get my own wings?”

Again, she chuckles, “Ah, you newcomers always ask that. I suppose it should be expected,” she turns around to fully show off her feathered wings. “Every angel does not instantly get their wings. An angel only gets wings when they earn them.” She turns back to face you, prepared for the next question every new angel inquires.

“Well, how do I earn mine?” you ask.

“It depends. There are no real specifications for when an angel earns their wings. It just depends on when God feels you earned them. The way I earned mine was by taking this position of greeter. But I’m sure you’ll earn your wings in no time.” She responds. “You do, however, get this,” she begins, stretching out her hands. Suddenly, a beam of light shines down onto her palms, a large ring manifesting from nothing. You soon realize what it is: a halo. “This is for you.”

You stand there, just staring at the accessory. Slowly, you reach your hand out and grasp it, bringing it up to your head. Wondering how it stays in place, you hold it up. It soon makes a *click* sound, signaling it’s in place. “Wow,” is the only word you can utter at the moment. Miranda shows you your reflection in a hand-held mirror, and you notice the white ring hovering over you.

“You can also take it off any time you wish. Believe me, it can be a hassle to sleep while wearing those, so feel free to keep it there or remove it whenever you please,” Miranda informs you. You decide to keep it on, for now, wanting to indulge the moment, the giddiness inside you not only increasing in size. “You seem excited,” she notes, “are you ready to enter into Heaven?”

With a wide grin, you shout “Yes!” You couldn’t believe this was truly happening! All of your life, you’d done your best to be a good person. Of course, you were by no means perfect, but knowing all of the good you had done in your life greatly outweighed the bad, you weren’t ashamed to admit you were proud of the life you lived. All those years finally built up to a beautiful afterlife, and you couldn’t wait to start the new chapter of your life. ‘Well,’ you think to yourself, ‘I guess this would be the epilogue of my story since I’m already past the end.’ That didn’t deter you though, as it meant you would truly have a “happily ever after” conclusion.

With a sincere smile, Miranda takes your hand and walks with you to Heaven - your new home.

* * *

Charlie was… admittedly nervous about the interview in a few days.

But excited to unveil her project! …

But worried about embarrassing herself on TV…

But excited! …

But worried…

 _Maaaaybe_ an 80-20 split on excitedness and nervousness?

Okay, so she was, possibly, a _liiiiitle_ more nervous than she let on but could anyone blame her?! She was about to be on 666 News with Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench: two of the biggest names in all of Hellywood! Sure, she may be the princess of Hell, but not the popularity one would think would come with royalty. What if she stumbled on her words or everyone laughs her off the show? Maybe she should sing to get her point across? She’d always done better with song than speech. Or what if—

“Charlie?” she hears as she paces in the lounge of the Happy Hotel. She’s stopped by the voice of Vaggie, her best friend and co-owner of the hotel.

“Vaggie!” she startles, “Ehehehe, w-when did you get here?”

“Just a few seconds ago. Are you doing alright, hon? You’re gonna leave a hole in the ground with how much you’ve been pacing,” Vaggie notes.

"Ah, yeah, I'm just... preparing for the interview," Charlie replies lamely, "trying not to psyche myself out, y'know?"

"I know you're a bit worried, but I know you're gonna do great. The worst thing you can do is overthink it. Just stick to the script and you'll do fine," Vaggie offers in comfort. Even with those words, Charlie can't help but feel unsure of the whole plan.

"Do you really think people are gonna wanna come to the hotel? What if I mess up and completely ruin everything? What if they all see me as a joke?"

Vaggie thinks for a moment before speaking next. "Listen, I understand why you're nervous, but know that no matter what happens, I'll be there to support you. This is our project, and we're gonna make it work, no matter what. And if anyone laughs at you, they won't be after I'm through with them." That gets a laugh out of Charlie. That was just one aspect of Charlie that Vaggie really liked-her laugh. It was a joyous sound, one that lit up any place that it could be heard. Vaggie couldn't help but let out a few laughs just from her reaction.

With her mood brighter, she asks one more time, "You sure I shouldn't sing instead? I think it'd really get people's attention!" This wasn't the first time Vaggie had been asked that question, and it was the same answer everytime.

"Believe me, it would definitely get attention, alright. But we need to be professional about this to show everyone that we are a serious operation," she responds. "Now come on, we've still got some cleaning to do for our grand opening."

As Vaggie walks out to get some supplies, Charlie takes a breath. The reassurance from her friend had truly shaken most of the anxiety away, and she felt this new wave of confidence for the upcoming event. Her big passion project was finally getting the attention it needed. No demon would have to be brutally slaughtered by the angels in another extinction. Soon, hundreds of sinners would be lining at the door, waiting to receive the help they need to become better people! She could already envision the bubbling atmosphere of the Happy Hotel filled with new patrons, embarking on the journey of self-betterment. Just the idea gave Charlie faith in her beliefs- it's never too late for anyone to change. Sure, there'd be naysayers ~~l~~ ~~ike her mother and father~~ but she knew that this is what Hell truly needed.

A newfound feeling of giddiness arises inside of Charlie as she goes to help Vaggie prepare for opening night.


	2. The Cleanse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You find a reason to love Heaven... and then one to Hate it. 
> 
> How will you proceed? Your fate is in your own hands now...

Heaven was, for lack of a better term, heavenly.

Of course, it had the typical white scenery depicted on Earth, but the world above was much vaster than what anyone could have envisioned. It seemed the land was truly endless with an impossibly large area filled with numerous buildings and homes. All around, angels either walked or soared around the land, their paths seen with marks left on the clouds. You were left in awe at the beautiful sight, realizing that this is the place you would call home.

“Do you like it?” Miranda asks, leading you to an unknown location.

“Like it?” you respond, “I love it! I mean, how could anyone not? It’s… it’s entrancing just to look at.”

She grins. “Yep, that’s always my favorite part about guiding the new souls up to Heaven…” she pauses. “Well, I guess it’s my second favorite part.”

“What’s your favorite part then?”

“You’ll see,” is the only response you receive from her.

You continue to walk, you still ogling at the world around you and her just enjoying watching your reaction. “So how long have you been guiding us ‘new souls’ through Heaven?”

“Eh, about 4 months, I think. I’ve only been dead for half a year or so.”

“Wow, so you’re still pretty new to Heaven, huh? Why did they pick you for the guide?” You ask her, “No offense or anything, but I figured they’d have someone who’s been here longer, y’know?”

“None taken. I was surprised too when I was given the job, but I was given it for a reason. It’s my purpose in the afterlife, and soon you’ll find yours.”

‘Purpose in the afterlife’. It was already a challenge to find your purpose in the living world, and now there’s another to find in Heaven?

“Well, since we’re on the subject of jobs,” Miranda continues, “we’ve already got a job lined up on you. You’re gonna be working on the Annual Cleanse. It’s a pretty big job, so we’re gonna be a lot of hands to help in it.”

“S-seriously?!” You shout in frustration, “I die, and my job is to do some cleaning?!”

At that moment, her smile falters, something you didn’t expect to see. “It’s, uh, not the cleaning you’re used to doing, trust me. You’ll be working with Nicholas’s team, and it’ll be about 100 angels in total. I know it sounds bad, but believe me, it’s a lot worse than it sounds. Personally, I don’t agree with it, but Nick insists to bring the new people in.”

“Gee, thanks for the reassurance.”

“No problem,” she says as a small smirk grows on her face. Finally, you stop in front of one of the houses. It looked identical to the surrounding ones with a key difference: your last name embroidered on the sign in front of it. “We’re here!”

“I’m assuming this is my place?”

“It is, but there are some others here you’ll be sharing with,” she gives you. For a moment, you were a bit confused about it. But it soon dawns on you the implication of her words, and you go wide-eyed out of shock. Instantly, you knock on the door, waiting impatiently for an answer.

It takes a few seconds, but the door creaks as it opens, revealing the inside of the house, along with someone standing in front of it. “Oh my gosh…” you hear the person say. The door fully opens, and you see a sight you thought you never would get to see again: your sister.

Your eyes meet hers as the two of you just stare, not fully processing the reality of the reunion. As soon as the initial surprise fades, the tears begin to form. You instantly hold each other in a strong embrace, afraid that if you let go, the other would disappear.

You remained in the tight hug, tears still streaming down your faces. Finally letting each other go, you see the wide smile that she has, true happiness displayed from seeing you. “I can’t believe it! It’s so good to see you again! How are you?! How are Mom and Dad?!” A never-ending list of questions comes from her, so many that you only pick up a few.

“It’s so nice to see you too! I missed you so much. You don’t know how hard it was on all of us when you died.” The recollection of her death made you almost tear up even more. When you lost your sister all those years ago, it felt as though the world around you was crumbling. Nothing felt real for a while, and it felt as though you were drifting through life, just waiting to have the same fate as her. Eventually, with enough support from friends and loved ones, you were able to recover from the death, hopeful that one day you would be reunited in Heaven. And it turned out your hope wasn’t in vain.

She seems to start tearing up remembering her passing. “I could only imagine what that must’ve felt like. I’m so sorry you all had to live like that.” She offers her sympathy in the form of another hug.

“You say that like your death was your fault,” you say in an attempt to make her feel less guilty. “It’s okay. Though I’m sure me dying probably made things even worse for Mom and Dad.”

“I bet. But they’ll overcome it. They’re strong. They raised us to be strong. And one day, we’ll all be here, together again.” Her words do give you a sense of optimism at the complete family reunion. “Oh! You gotta come inside! You have to say hi to everyone else!”

“Everyone else? There’s more?”

“Duh. Our grandparents, and our great grandparents, and our great-great-grandparents, and our great-grea-“

“Okay, okay! I get it! I have a lot of family to catch up with,” you interrupt, getting a chuckle out of her.

“Well, I think I’ll leave you to your business here,” Miranda states. In all the commotion with your sister, you had forgotten she was there. “I’ll come back to talk to you about your new job. You enjoy some family time.”

“Thanks, Miranda,” you reply.

“No problem. Oh, and to answer your earlier question, _this_ is my favorite part of my job,” she notes. “See you later.” With that, she takes off into the air, making her way back to help other new angels.

“Well, come on! Are you coming in or what?!” Your sister impatiently asks as she starts pulling your arm into the house.

“Alright, I’m coming!” You laugh. Looking outside one last time, you breathe a content sigh and shut the door.

* * *

Spending time with your deceased family was surreal, to say the least. It was nice to reconnect with family that you lost when you were alive and meet the ones who you never had the chance to see. Just being around them opened up a whole new part of your past that you had no idea existed. It was… it was an experience you would never give up.

But the day finally came- cleaning day. Needless to say, you were less than thrilled to be assigned to this job. But if it was the job assigned to you, you would put on a brave face and do your part. Once you arrived at the job site, you look around, seeing plenty of other angels waiting for this cleaning. A few, like you, didn’t have their wings grown in, obviously new to the scene while the majority sported their wings, some seeming excited at this opportunity to earn them.

You spot Miranda approaching you with another angel walking beside her. His face was… stoic, to put it mildly, showing a stony complexion that gave the appearance of a military leader. “Ah, there you are!” Miranda greets, “I’d like you to meet Nicholas. He’s in charge of the cleanse, and he’ll be your boss for the time being.”

You stretch your arm out for a handshake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” you offer with your name.

He looks at your hand, then back to your face. “Nicholas,” is all he gives. You bring your arm back to you, dejected. “Are you ready to help with the cleanse?”

With a fake smile, you say, “Anything to help Heaven, right?”

“That’s the attitude we need.” He hands you a bag, “Here, this is what you’ll be using.” You look inside, expecting to find some sort of cleaning supplies. But instead, the bag was filled with… arrows?

“Uh,” you respond confusedly, “how am I supposed to clean with these?”

“Well, you’ll need this, of course,” he then gives you another object: a bow.

“What are these for? I thought we were cleaning, not doing archery.”

“Believe me, the only way this cleanse will work is with these weapons,” is all he gives you as he signals for everyone to follow his lead. All the people gather around and follow his lead, heading towards the edge of the clouds.

“Well, I’ll be off now.” Miranda tells you, “Good luck out there.” She gives you one last smile before heading out. Once she’s gone, you feel a sense of dread welling up inside you. But why would you feel that? It’s only some cleaning… right?

“Now, everyone,” Nick announces, drawing you out of your thoughts, “when we get down to Hell, you’ll need to be cautious. That filth down there will do everything in their power to take you out. Do not let yourself fall victim to that filth. We will eradicate as much of them as possible, and then return here.”

“Eradicate?” You ask out loud.

“Yes, as angels, we must clean up the filth of the afterlife. The only way to do that,” he explains, “is by eradicating the demons of Hell.”

Your eyes went wide, trying to process those words. ‘Eradicate the demons?’ So, he wanted you to kill them?! Why is that okay to do in Heaven? And why did it seem as though you were the only one against it? Most of the other angels didn’t seem to be as put off to the idea as you were. In fact, they seemed eager to begin the cleanse. You, on the other hand, had never seen the good in killing, placing great value into life. Even though they were all already dead, that didn’t give anyone the right to take away their existence in the afterlife!

You were too lost in panic as Nick ordered the other angels to take the decent. As more and more jumped from the clouds, you began to quiver more and more, horrified with the idea to take another’s life. You couldn’t do it. There was no way in _heck_ that you would kill anyone.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Nick asks you impatiently. You look around and see you’re the last one who hasn’t gone. You try to force your legs to move towards the edge, but you couldn’t. Your body physically wouldn’t let you go through with this. The mere thought of slaying the demons made you sick. So what did you do instead?

You ran.

“HEY!” Nick barks at you, “GET BACK HERE!” You keep running. You hear him chase you, trying to force you to participate in this slaughter, but you were too determined to slow down. You ran until you heard him let out an annoyed grunt and you turned around, seeing him go down to join the other angels in the cleanse.

You eventually run back to your home, where your sister and your other family are. “H-hey,” your sister asks, “is everything alright?” You begin to explain everything: Nicholas, the cleanse, you running away. You could feel the tears begin to form as you tell her how terrified you were at the prospect of the cleanse. She just listens to you silently, letting you vent about the situation and how you felt. Heaven was not at all what you thought it would be. There’s no way something like this would be allowed right?

No way you would believe something like this would be accepted by God, right? Something that resulted in so much brutality.

So much pain.

So much…

Death.

* * *

Death.

That’s all she sees around her.

Charlie watched as the angels rained down from Heaven, killing the demons of Hell. Her people.

She heard the screams of the demons as they were slaughtered and saw the bodies fall to the ground all from her balcony.

‘Why?’ she asked herself. ‘Why do we deserve this?’ She couldn’t help but let the tears stream down her face, watching helplessly as so many of her people were pillaged by the beings of Heaven.

“Charlie,” she hears someone call out to her. She turns and sees Vaggie once again, a saddened expression worn on her face. Vaggie always hated seeing Charlie like this. She was always the sunshine that lit up the dimness of Hell, and every extermination took that light away. Not like she could blame Charlie. Who wouldn’t feel heartbroken seeing thousands die? Vaggie opens her arms, offering a hug to console her best friend, and Charlie doesn’t hesitate the offer.

She sobs all her emotions out on Vaggie’s shoulder. Quietly, Vaggie sings, “A la nanita nana, nanita Ella, nanita ella.” She remembers fondly of the times her mother would sing it to her: how gentle her voice was and how she would be soothed by how comforting it was whenever she needed it the most. “Min niño tiene sueño bendito sea, bendito sea.”

As they remained in each other’s embrace, Vaggie’s song overtaking the screams heard from outside, Charlie gradually calms herself. “W…we...” Charlie starts, stuttering through her sobs, “We can’t let this happen anymore,” Charlie says, her voice slightly muffled by Vaggie’s shirt.

“We won’t,” Vaggie asserts, “No one will die from another cleanse. We’ll make sure of that.”

Charlie looks up, her eyes still reddened from the tears, with a look of determination in those eyes.

“Never again.”

* * *

Things weren’t looking great for you right now. After you abandoned the ‘Cleansing’ team, Miranda arrived at your door. She informed you that Nick wanted a word with you and the way she said it didn’t make you think it would be a pleasant one. You weren’t looking forward to it, but something tells you that if you ignored the meeting, it would only make things worse for you, and potentially, your family.

That’s why you were here, standing in front of the building where Nick worked, trying to mentally prepare yourself for whatever he had to say to you.

“Hey,” you hear a voice call out. You turn to see it was your sister running to you. “so, what do you think is gonna happen to you?”

“Hopefully, it’ll be just a slap on the wrist, but who knows with Nick? I mean, how could a man who thinks killing means cleansing be reasonable about this sort of thing?! Did you know anything about these ‘cleanses’?”

“I don’t know much about it, just the basic stuff of ‘cleansing the afterlife’ or whatever, but I never really paid much attention to it. I’m a bit too scared of the boss to say anything about it. But I heard that he _hates_ deserters,” she warns.

“Well, I have plenty of words to say to him. I don’t care who he is or what people say about him, he doesn’t scare me.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t. You always had a sturdy backbone on you,” your sister compliments, “but please, be careful with him. I know he isn’t exactly the nicest of guys, but I truly think he’s not bad. Maybe just different morals, but he has to be good if he made it into Heaven, right? Please, don’t do anything to rash in that meeting.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep a cool head,” you reassure, “just don’t expect me to suddenly be all gung-ho about wanting to join his extermination mission.”

She nods. “I don’t. I’m not a fan of what they do, either. I never had the courage to speak up against him, but maybe you’ll be the one to make a change,” she encourages. With one final hug, she says, “Well, I think I’ll head home now. Gonna get the food ready for all of us back home. Good luck with the meeting. You’ll be great!”

With a smile, you bid her farewell and watch her fly back to the house. You turn back towards the building where Nicholas was waiting to reprimand you. You let out a deep sigh. “Welp, let’s get this over with.”

* * *

“What happened today?!” Nick asks without taking his eyes away from his papers, “you were assigned to aid in the annual cleanse, and yet, you abandoned the team. Why?”

Trying not to let him get to you, you answer “I couldn’t, in good conscience, take the lives of demons. I’ve never been one to kill, and I don’t intend to start in Heaven.”

“Why would you care about what happens to demons? They had a chance to be a part of our kingdom, but they wasted their lives by indulging in sin. It’s people like them that ruin the harmony of the afterlife, and it’s up to _us_ to clean the filth.” You see his cool composure slowly fades away with each word he says. “Do you know who those people are?” He continues, “Thieves, druggies, murderers. Scum. Each and every one of them. Why do they get to enjoy their time in Hell? They don’t deserve to live in that sinner’s paradise after all the detestable things they did while they’re alive.”

“What do you mean by ‘sinner’s paradise’?”

He looks you dead in the eyes. “Hell’s not what it used to be. Before, it was a place where people would suffer for their lives of sin. But now? It’s a joke. A place where anyone can do anything they want without worrying about punishment. They have it all down there: drugs, porn, alcohol: everything they indulged in while they were alive. If it weren’t for us, they wouldn’t have any punishment to face. That’s why these cleanses are necessary. To give these sinners what they deserve.”

You could feel the anger rise, blood boiling at how nonchalantly this “angel” was talking about killing demons. “With all due respect _sir,_ I won’t be the one to take another’s life. I know that they’re demons and they may be sinners, but they don’t deserve to die again,” you explain, trying to justify your actions.

He pinches his nose bridge out of frustration “Believe me, I’ve heard the same spiel thousands of times. I hate people like you: people who act as if they’re taking the moral high ground. All you’re doing is justifying that sin should be rewarded, not punished. And as your superior, when I tell you to do something, it’s your duty to follow it.” A part of you was hurt that he so blatantly said he didn’t like you. You were always a people-pleaser when you were alive, helping anyone whenever you could, and trying to offer support to others. Having someone openly say their thoughts of you like that damaged your self-esteem a bit, but you didn’t let it show.

“Look, I get that you don’t like me, and I respect that you’re my boss, but the killing of these demons is an unnecessary punishment for them. If you expect the afterlife to be ‘cleansed’ by taking lives, then that’s not something I’ll ever support,” you respond to his curt answer.

“I _expect_ you to follow your orders. However, you chose to run away when you were ordered to help. There will be severe repercussions for this, you know. Forget about earning your wings; you’ll be worrying about your place in Heaven if you keep acting like this,” Nick explains with a smirk. It was clear he was getting a rise from this ordeal, clearly seeing this as the perfect excuse to not have you around anymore.

This conversation was going nowhere fast. But you can’t give up yet! You’re not going to sit by as millions of demons are unjustly killed. But how are you going to stop this?

Should you make a cool approach with the issue? Maybe he’d be willing to go for some sort of deal. He may be very crass with you, but he doesn’t seem unreasonable. There must be some peaceful resolution to this for both of you to be satisfied. But it’s clear he doesn’t care much for you. Would he even listen to what you have to say? Or would he just ignore you and continue the “cleansing” without a second thought?

Or would an aggressive approach work better with Nick? Sure, it wouldn’t be very angelic of you, but it might be the only way for Nick to listen. Maybe some sort of threat would be best to deal with him. Surely, his higher-ups wouldn’t tolerate the way he’s handling these situations, so you could use that to your leverage. However, he is a bit hot-headed himself. Who knows what he would do if you decided to threaten him? He wouldn’t be so heated about a threat that he’d hurt you. He doesn’t despise you _that_ much… does he?

**What should you do?**

  * **Calm (Make a deal)**
  * **Aggressive (Threaten him)**



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, this was supposed to come out sooner, but then life hit me in the face.  
> And another whoops, this chapter's 3500 words long but only 300 have and HH characters, sorry about that.  
> But I promise! The next chapter will have interaction between reader and some of the gang! I swear!
> 
> Voting ends next week on February 22. I think the votes are always just gonna last a week to keep things simple. My original plan for the voting is just to let you guys leave your choices in the comments, but I know some people don't like leaving comments, so do you think there should just be a strawpoll for each choice? Let me know what you think!
> 
> But anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! See you for Chapter 3!


	3. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make your descent to Hell, and once there, you make a new friend. She just so happens to be the princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You chose to be calm with Nicholas.
> 
> (Also, I’m gonna test out using a straw poll for the vote. Link in the end note.)

‘Please,’ you remember your sister’s words, ‘don’t do anything too rash in that meeting.’

She was right. It wouldn’t be right to try and threaten him. Using violence to stop violence wouldn’t work, and you don’t want to stoop to that level just to get your way. ‘There has to be a way I can convince him to stop,’ you think to yourself.

“Well,” Nick startles you, “if we’re all done here, it’s time to warrant out your punishment.”

“Wait!” You exclaim, “There’s gotta be some agreement we can make. I know you don’t like me, and I respect that, but I’m not going to give up here. Please, let me find a way to help those demons that doesn’t end up with them dying.”

“And what, exactly, did you have in mind?”

‘Think. What would convince him to let you try?’ you think to yourself. ‘There’s no way he would take you seriously with some lame idea like ‘writing a strongly written letter’ or anything like that. What would show him that I really do want to save the demons?’

Then, an idea came to you.

“I… I’m willing to go down into Hell and help them.”

His eyes go wide at hearing that. “Y-you what?! You’re willing to leave Heaven just to try and help that… that _filth_?!”

“I mean, didn’t you say I should be worried about my place in Heaven? So, wouldn’t I be going down to Hell anyway?”

“I-“ It seems like you caught him off guard with that. “You know, I wasn’t being serious when I said that. I was just thinking something along the lines of community service or a similar punishment. And even if I were serious, it would be insane for any angel would voluntarily leave Heaven!”

“Regardless, I think going down into Hell is the best way for me to help them.” You continue. “If I can go down and show the demons that they can be better, then maybe I could save some of those lost souls and, you know, guide them into Heaven, or something.”

He stares, shocked riddled across his face. “You’re serious. You’d really risk your life just to help those sinners? You’re willing to give up your life in Heaven with all of your family just for that filth?”

When he asks you that, you realize he’s right about that. Heaven is truly a beautiful place that anyone would feel lucky to live in. It’s what millions of people strive their whole lives to see, yourself included. Is it really worth it to abandon it all? To leave the holy kingdom? To leave your sister and all of your family behind? All to have a _chance_ to somehow save the people of Hell. Is that… really the right choice?

… _Yes_.

“If it means I have a chance to prevent them from dying, then yes. I’ll give it all up.”

Again, you’ve seen to leave him speechless. He composes himself again before speaking. “A-alright. So, let’s say you somehow manage to not die in Hell and rescue those ‘misguided souls.’ What is it you want?”

“If I can prove that demons don’t need to be killed for Hell to be ‘cleansed’, then you stop your annual massacres and leave the people of Hell alone.”

“And if you don’t?”

You pause, thinking of a suitable agreement. “If I can’t help the demons, then I’ll agree to stop arguing with you about your ‘Annual Cleanse.’ I won’t go against you again, and I’ll listen when you give me a job to do, no matter what.”

“You understand that you’ll be surrounded by sinners, right? There’s a chance that their unholiness will rub off on you. It’s possible that you won’t even be allowed access back into Heaven if that happens. You’ll lose your place in Heaven permanently, and you’ll be trapped in Hell as another fallen angel.”

“Well, that’s a risk I’m willing to take,” you say confidently.

“Hmm…” Nick ponders, “you’re really committed to protecting these sinners, aren’t you? Why is that?”

“Well, like I said,” you explain, “life is something I see a lot of value in. If there’s a way around killing, then I’ll find it. Plus, it’s not fair to kill them just for being sinners. I know I wasn’t perfect when I was alive, and I’m sure many other angels, including yourself, weren’t either.”

“That’s true, I had my fair share of mistakes in my life,” he recalls, “but I made penance with those sins, as did you and other angels. Those demons never did.”

“I-I know. But still, I believe that anyone can change if they really want to try, including demons. Just let me try and show them that there’s still hope,” you plea to him.

He’s silent for a bit, seeming to consider the options. After a few moments, he lets out a sigh. “Alright. Deal,” he says, “I will give you a chance to help those demons.”

“R-really?” you were surprised. You honestly weren’t sure if Nicholas would even give your request a second thought. You couldn’t help the smile grow on your face, “Thank you, Nick.”

“Don’t thank me yet. After all, you’re going down to Hell. The place where they hate angels, especially after the recent cleanse,” he warns. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll gather some things for you that should help you. I’d recommend that you say goodbye to your family while I do that.” He walks out of the room, not waiting for you to respond.

This was really happening. You were really about to jump into Hell and risk never coming back into Heaven.

* * *

“You’re WHAT?!” your sister practically screams at you. It was pretty much the reaction you were expecting her to have. When you went to say goodbye to your family, most of them tried to convince you to stay, but you asserted yourself, convincing them to accept your decision. Your sister, however, was never that easily swayable.

“I know, it sounds crazy, but I can’t stand idly by and do nothing about the demons,” you try to explain.

“Forget about the demons, what about _us_? You’re just gonna leave everyone up here in Heaven? I don’t think you’ve thought this through all the way.”

“You think this is easy for me? Believe me, the last thing I want to do is abandon you guys. But people are dying out there. I can’t just let it happen without at least trying to make a difference.”

“But…” she starts, her voice beginning to shake. “w-what if _you’re_ one of the ones to die? I… I… I don’t want you to die trying to help.” She blinks, trying to keep the tears from falling. “You don’t deserve to die, especially for demons. You earned a happy life in Heaven with us. Please, don’t give it all up. I don’t want to lose you…”

You knew this wouldn’t be easy. Saying goodbye never was. Even you didn’t want to walk out the door. You wanted to stay right here, spending the rest of the afterlife peacefully with your family. She was right. You didn’t deserve to die for them.

But…

“I know. I’m scared, too. I know full and well that I have a good chance of dying down there. But if I can help even one person, save one life, then it’ll all be worth it.”

“…You really won’t change your mind, will you?”

“Not this time, I’m afraid.” You release your grip from her hand, giving her one last hug. She didn’t return the hug, seeming still focused on what you said. “I’ll be okay,” you assure her.

You let go of her, still not getting any physical reaction. But you can see her face, the anger she had fading into sadness she hid. “Goodbye, sis,” you say, turning towards the door to leave.

“Wait!” she screams, grabbing your hand in a tight grip. “Promise me! Promise me that when you’re done, you’ll come straight back to Heaven. To us. I’m not letting go unless you promise!... _Please_.”

She tried to be strong, but you could see the cracks in her mask of anger growing as the sadness showed itself.

“I promise.”

She doesn’t say anything as she pulls you against her, wrapping her arms around you firmly. You immediately reciprocate the hug, clenching her as tight as you could. You felt your shoulder become stained with her tears, the mask finally fully broken.

“Please… don’t die.”

“I won’t,” you assured. “I promise.”

* * *

You find Nick waiting by where he told you to meet- near the sight of where you gathered for the Cleanse. “Ah, there you are. Did you get a chance to say goodbye?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Good, good. I know it’s not easy saying goodbye, but everyone has to say it at some point.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Never gets easier, does it?”

“Unfortunately, not,” he says solemnly. His face shows that he’s had plenty of experience with goodbyes, most likely not pleasant ones.

Trying to get his mind to not focus on that, you ask, “So what did you want to give me?”

“Ah, yes. I brought some items that should help you down there.” In his hands, he held a bag you remember once holding yourself and a familiar-looking bow along with it.

Immediately, you push his hands away. “I told you I’m not gonna kill anyone!”

“I know that,” he says, “but you’ll _be_ killed if you don’t have anything to protect yourself with. Demons won’t hesitate to attack you if they find out you’re an angel, and not just because of the Cleanse.”

“Why else?” you inquire.

“You see, angel’s blood is _very_ useful to demons. Drinking it makes them stronger and more dangerous than a normal demon. If you aren’t equipped to at least be prepared for an ambush, you won’t survive long down there.”

“Wait,” you interrupt, “if we die in the afterlife, where do we go? Is there a second Heaven and Hell after this one?”

He laughs briefly. “No, it seems unlikely. My best guess is that there’s nothing beyond the afterlife. Your soul is just… gone. Left in a vast emptiness that people fear to reach. It’s a terrifying thought, isn’t it? The nothingness after death. Far more permanent…”

Though you were shocked by what he told you, you were even more shocked by how much Nick was helping you. You figured he’d leave you to fend for yourself without any preparation. But here he was, arming you with weapons and knowledge to help you survive. You couldn’t help but ask, “So, why are you helping me with this? I thought you hated me and that you couldn’t wait for me to die in Hell.”

He meets your eyes and says, “Believe me, I did hate you. But that changed when I saw the drive to help them in your eyes.” He briefly stops, considering what to how to phrase his next point. “A lot of new angels have complained to me about how ‘unethical’ the cleanse is, but you’re the first person that’s willing to do something about it instead of just talking about it. I’d say you’re the first angel to voluntarily jump into Hell to help those people. You’re not afraid to fight for what you believe. I don’t know whether it’s bravery or stupidity, but I respect it.”

What he said was not the response you were expecting, but his words really made you proud of your decision. You grab the bow and arrows from his hands, wearing them over your shoulder. “Well, I appreciate the help. Thank you for everything.” Once again, you put your arm out in the hopes to shake his hand. He looks at your hand, then back at your face.

Before you put your arm back down, you feel his hand connect with yours. He reciprocates the shake, and for the first time, you can see some form of content showing on his face. Eventually, you break the contact and begin walking to the edge where you were originally supposed to drop for the Cleanse.

You reach the end of the clouds, seeing the path to Hell below your feet. “Now,” Nick starts, “when you get down there, avoid bringing too much attention to yourself. I know you’ll want to try and get to work right away, but news about an angel falling will spread fast. You’ll need to stay careful.”

“Got it,” you respond.

“And don’t let anyone see that you have that halo. Keep it hidden, no matter what.”

“Oh!” you had gotten so used to it being on your head, you forgot you were even wearing it. You quickly take it off and put it in your pocket. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“Heh, don’t worry. I’ve forgotten about mine more times than I can count. But you can’t risk forgetting when you’re down there. Don’t let _anyone_ know that you’re an angel.”

“Yes sir,” you respond.

As you reach the edge of the clouds, you look down. _Big mistake_ doing that, though. You could see the light of Heaven slowly turn into darkness the further down the path went. You start to quiver a bit, nerves starting to make you second-guess this whole idea.

“What’s the matter? Scared?” Nick asks, placing a hand on your shoulder.

“Y-y-yeah. It’s a pretty far fall. Do you think I’ll be safe?”

“Don’t worry. We’ve had plenty of new angels jump in the Cleanse, and they all survive the fall. Well, I guess that’s because the winged angels help them with their landing…” he trails off. “But you should be fine… hopefully. Just aim for soft ground and don’t hit anything on the way down.”

You try to pay attention to his advice, but the fear is all you can think about.

“Hey,” he says, “I know you’re scared, but you’re strong. You can do this,” he encourages.

“I-I don’t know about this anymore…” you say, doubting this whole mission. Surely, you wouldn’t survive such a large fall, would you? Maybe it’s time to rethink this plan, or at least think of a safer way to lan-

He sighs, his grip on your shoulder tightening. “It’s alright to be scared. But I’m here to help. Sometimes fear holds us back from doing what we need to, and all you need is a quick, little---"

_Push._

You feel his hand force you off the edge, but before you can stop him, you’re falling.

“Good luck!” you hear him shout, barely loud enough over the sound of your own screams.

The clouds you once called home quickly grew further away as you continue to plummet down. The wind blows strong as gravity pulls you closer and closer into the underworld. All around, the sky changes its color as your decent progresses.

From light blue…

To dark blue…

To black…

And finally…

Red.

You fall through a patch of crimson clouds in the sky, signifying that you were to land soon. As you came closer and closer to the end of your fall, you frantically look around for anywhere safe to land, but you’re distracted in your search by the world you see. All around, you see the new world. A bustling city with flashy lights and worn-down buildings become clearer to your view. If it weren’t for the constant shades of red staining every building, it would seem like an average city.

But what catches your attention the most was one building that was far from the crowded part of the town. A tall building with its name largely printed on the front. One that, for some reason, piqued your curiosity more than any of the brightly lit structures.

The Happy Hotel.

* * *

“A’ight, I’m goin’ out for a bit. Gotta help a friend with somethin’.”

“Y-you can’t leave _now_! We need you to watch the place while Charlie and I go to the interview!” Vaggie tries to explain to Angel Dust. She was already feeling nervous about how Charlie would do, and she _definitely_ didn’t need to add Angel to the list of reasons to worry. He didn’t exactly have a great reputation for doing good deeds, so him going out into the city was the last thing Vaggie wanted him to do.

“Ya really think anyone’s gonna try n’ break in _this_ place? This ol’ dump’ll be fine for a couple hours.” He lazily waves to the two ladies as he walks out the door.

“Puta Madre,” Vaggie murmurs to herself. “That spider is getting on my last nerves…” she trails off, uttering more curse words not so quietly that Charlie couldn’t understand. Her mind was far elsewhere at the moment, still making sure she had every word down for today’s interview. Speaking of which, she decides to check in on Charlie and make sure she’s still alright.

Vaggie walks into Charlie’s office to find her sitting at her desk, reviewing what looked to be a script of what to say. “Hey, Charlie,” she says as she approaches her, “How are you feeling?”

“Actually, I feel pretty good about the interview!” she says with a new enthusiasm in her. “I’m still a little nervous if I’m being honest, but I think I’ll do great!”

“That’s the spirit,” Vaggie encourages, “You’re gonna be amazing out there. Soon, this place will be packed with people wanting to improve themselves! Isn’t it exciting?” Even just thinking about it starts making Vaggie feel hopeful. Charlie, though, doesn’t look as excited as she’d expect her to. “Hey, is everything alright?”

She sighs. “Listen,” Charlie stands from her desk. “I just wanted to say thank you for being there for me. I’ll be honest, when we broke up, I was scared you wouldn’t want to work with me anymore. But the fact that you stayed with me this whole time shows me how kind you are.” She approaches Vaggie, arms wide to embrace her best friend. “You never stopped supporting me, even when everyone else thought this idea was stupid. Thank you for always being there for me. You’re the best friend I could’ve asked for.”

Vaggie wasted no time returning the embrace. The break-up wasn’t the easiest thing for either of them, but they both knew that they still cared for each other. The only reason why they broke up was that they worried that business with the hotel might interfere with their relationship. The last thing they wanted was to break up because of some unnecessary arguments about how the place should be run. So, they agreed that the best thing for them would be to stay as good friends and business partners. Over the next few months of arranging the hotel, they felt that they made the right choice.

“Don’t mention it,” Vaggie consoles, “and don’t believe any of them. If they don’t want to learn to improve, then that’s their choice. But I know we’ll be able to help a lot of people. Your dream isn’t stupid, and I’ll make sure every one of them sees that.” With that, she lets go of Charlie. “I’m gonna keep prepping the place since that _spider skank_ refuses to help. We still have a few hours until the interview, so we should have plenty of time to get the place ready for all the new demons coming in.”

“All right, I’ll help you in a bit. I just want to clear my head a bit. See you later,” she says as she heads downstairs. She walks out the door to take in some fresh air. Charlie sighed, taking in the view of Hell and all of its beauty. The many buildings that littered the streets, the crimson sky that lit the night a lovely shade of crimson, and, of course, the giant pentagram that loomed above them all. Hell wasn’t perfect, sure, but Charlie was always able to look past the flaws and see a place of happiness. A place that she could call home.

Then, she saw something new.

It looked like someone… was falling?

Sure, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for new souls to fall into Hell, but this one was different. From what she saw, it didn’t seem like this person had any sort of demon form. She heard their scream as they fell, terrified of crashing to the ground. Then, the sound of a great impact came, but the petrified scream had stopped. This worried Charlie for a reason she couldn’t explain, and she ran to where she saw the body fall. She wasn’t quite sure why she wanted to see who it was, but something told her that she needed to make sure this person was okay. When she got to where the body was, she saw something unique to her: you.

You didn’t look like any sort of demon she’s seen, and she’s been here all of her life. You didn’t have any horns or sharpened teeth or anything that a demon obtains when they arrive in Hell. You looked… oddly human for someone in Hell. Also weirdly was you were wielding a bow and a bag of arrows. Why would you have those with you if you just arrived here?

“P…pl…” she’s pulled out of that train of thought when she hears your voice, “please… h…elp…” Her eyes met yours as she watched you, physically in pain after that fall. Your eyes started closing, out of energy to remain awake.

“H-hey!” she screams as she rushes to your side. She shakes your unconscious body in the hopes that you would awaken, but to no avail. She had no idea what to do to help you. It wasn’t as if she was a nurse or anything, so how could she make sure you wouldn’t die?!

After taking a moment to calm down, she considers some options. It wouldn’t be safe to leave you here while she went to the town to get medical gear. She also couldn’t take you into the town. It was far too dangerous for an unconscious demon to be left out there. It seemed the best place to take you would be to the unoccupied hotel. It would be a pretty far walk with her having to carry you there, but it was the safest idea she could come up with.

With a plan in mind, she slumped your arm around her shoulder and proceeded to carry you to the hotel. One thing she considered was whether or not to tell Vaggie about this strange person, but she decided against it. Vaggie was never the most… trusting person when it came to meeting new people. Not like Charlie could blame her, but she didn’t want to risk the chance of Vaggie killing you before you even woke up.

When she reached the hotel, she scoped the main lobby for any sign of Vaggie, but fortunately, the room was empty. She proceeded as fast as she could to the stairs, dreading having to carry you up the flight. It was a struggle, for sure, and at one point, she almost lost your grip on you and nearly sent you falling down those steps. Luckily, she was able to catch your arm before you fell. Eventually, she made it up the stairs with you being dragged behind her. She proceeded to drag you until she got to one of the rooms that was already prepared, opening the door with her master key. She reached the bed and laid your body on it, placing the bow and arrow by the nightstand to the side.

It wasn’t exactly the best plan, but it was all she could do for now. She rushed out of the room to go into town and buy some medical supplies. She wanted to be quick, worried that Vaggie might find you there and attack you. But why was she so worried about this demon in particular? Sure, she cared about all of the people of Hell, but there was something different about this one. She shook the thought, focusing back on her goal of helping you.

Maybe, just maybe, you’d be the first one she’d save.

* * *

Red.

The first thing you see when you open your eyes is red.

Your body aches as you try to get up, feeling sore all over your front side. ‘What happened?’ you briefly wonder. Then, it hits you. Slowly, your mind starts to piece the events together: the descent to Hell, the painful collapse, and that girl who saw you.

‘Great,’ you think in frustration, “Not even 10 seconds in Hell, and I’ve already been noticed by a demon.’ Your body begins to get used to the pain as you get off of the bed you were lying in. Walking was still a bit difficult, resulting in you having a slight limp with your right leg.

“Wait, when did I get into a bed?” you ask yourself. Looking around, you realize the whole setting is different from what you remember. You seemed to be in some sort of bedroom with a decent sized bed and a TV facing opposite of it. Sitting on either side of the bed were two nightstands with matching lamps on them. On the wall to your left, there was a window showing the outside world, a clear view of the lively town not too far away. On the right, a door that most likely lead out of this room. By the TV, another door that probably connected a restroom. You recognize that this place seemed to be some sort of hotel room.

You walk around a bit, exploring the room you awoke in. Sure enough, the door on your right lead out into a hallway, and the other to the restroom. You walk in and look at yourself in the mirror. It didn’t seem like there were any external injuries from the fall. You appeared to be alright for now, so you left the restroom and continued looking around. On the other side of your bed, you find your bow and arrow bag sitting there, also not damaged in the slightest. You grab it, pulling out an arrow from the bag in preparation for leaving this place. You still how you ended up here.

‘Did that girl bring me here?’ Why would she though? It would’ve been easy to kill you right there and then, but she chose to save you and bring you to this room. ‘Maybe she has something in mind for me…’ Maybe she planned on making sure you were awake while she slowly drained your blood, or maybe she was saving you to share with other demons, or maybe-

No. You can’t think like that. You were scared of the demons, sure, but the whole reason you were here was to try and help them. You wouldn’t be much help if you assumed the worst for every demon, would you? Maybe she did genuinely want to help you, so she brought you to a safe place?

Suddenly, you hear the door open behind you, and out of instinct, you aim your bow at the person who made the noise. It turned out to be that same girl who you saw. A blonde-haired lady with pale, white skin and black surrounding her eyes and nose. She wore a white buttoned-shirt and black pants, the image of business casual. And her face showed an expression of pure fear.

“W-Woah!” she startles, “Wait, don’t shoot!”

You don't move, but you slightly loosen your grip on the arrow, realizing who it was that entered. "Y-you're the one that saved me, right?"

“Yes, you're okay, I’m not here to hurt you.” She takes a few steps towards you, closing the distance between you. You don’t move the bow away from her. “Maybe you could, I don’t know, lower that bow of yours so we can greet each other properly?”

You contemplate it for a moment. Though you didn't fully trust this demon you just met, she did, at least, take you in. If she wanted to hurt you, she probably would have tried something when you were out cold. You figure the least you could do to say thanks is not threatening to kill her. You bring your bow down. "Okay, sorry about that. Just a little startled, you know? Anyways, thanks for helping me, Miss..."

“Oh! Let me introduce myself Hi! I’m Charlie, Princess of Hell. It’s nice to meet you!” She goes to move towards you, but you instinctively back away, still somewhat paranoid about the situation. She realizes this and decides to stay put.

“So, can you tell me what happened after you found me?"

“Of course!” she says. “When I found you lying there, you asked me to help you. So I brought you to my hotel so you could rest.”

“W-wait, why is there a hotel in Hell?” It seemed like an odd business to have. You would’ve figured that most of the people staying would want a more permanent living space. Who would want to pay for a hotel if you were staying here for eternity?

“Well, this hotel’s a _bit_ different than most. Y’see, I want to try and help sinners work towards redemption.”

You’re befuddled, to say the least. “Why would you want to help sinners?” It didn’t make sense. It would be one thing if it were an average demon, but this was the _princess_ of Hell. Wouldn’t she be one of the ones that would want as many people to suffer here as possible?

“I know, I know, it sounds like a stupid idea,” she explains, “but I always believed that every person has some good in them, no matter how deep down it is. I hate having to see my people die every year in an extermination,” you wince a bit at that, but she doesn’t seem to notice, “and I want to save these people. _My_ people.”

She sounds… serious about this. If she’s lying, she’s doing a great job at it. You offer some support, thinking she's being genuine about her plan. “Huh. Well, if it means anything, I don’t think it’s a stupid idea.”

“Huh? You don’t?”

“I don’t. When I was… alive,” you pause, nearly giving away the fact that you were from Heaven. “I always saw good people on the news that killed others because they thought it was the only way to help the world. I never agreed with it, so I spoke up. And, that’s how I ended up here.” Sure, you left some of the details up to interpretation, but that was the basic story of how you wounded up here in Hell.

“Really? So, do you think these demons could be redeemed?!”

“Sure they can. They just need to put in the work. And maybe someone to give them a push in the right direction.”

You could see her expression perk up. It seemed that not many other people believed in her cause, but it was one you supported whole-heartedly. How amazing is it that there’s actually someone that wants to help sinners become better people down here?

“Thank you! You don’t know how many people laughed at the idea of redemption. It’s always nice to have people behind you, y’know?” she says with a bright smile on her face. It was an infectious expression, one that quickly spread to you. Maybe you should offer to help her with this hotel? This seemed like a great chance to do exactly what you set out to do.

Before you could ask though, she looked at a clock hanging on the wall. “Oh no!” she screams, “I’m gonna be late for the interview! Look, I have to get going. I’m doing an interview with Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench. You should check it out. It was nice meeting you!”

“Alright, good luck,” you say as she darts out of the room. When she’s gone, you lock the door behind her and return to your bed. You turn on the TV in search of the channel Charlie would be on.

About half an hour passes of you browsing through channels. Surprisingly, there were a lot of channels down here in Hell. Eventually, you reach channel 666 (‘of course,’ you thought) just in time to see Charlie sitting next to some _insane looking_ bug demon.

“Well,” Charlie takes a breath. “As most of you know, I was born here in Hell, and growing up, I always tried to see the good in everything around me. Hell is my home and-“

She’s interrupted as blood splashes onto her face from the insect Katie just stabbed with her pen. Charlie wipes the blood off in a single stroke and continues. “you are my people. We… we just went through another extermination. We lost so many souls and it breaks my heart to see my people being slaughtered every year. No one is even given a chance!” Her words resonate with you. The passion in her eyes, the tone of her voice. Every word she says feels authentic to you. She really did want to save the sinners, just like you. After so many people telling you how insane you were for this idea, hearing someone share the same goal only assures you that you made the right decision to come down here.

I can’t stand idly by while the place I live is subjected to such violence. Sooo, I’ve been thinking: isn’t there a more humane way to end our overpopulation here in Hell? Perhaps we can create an alternative way to change souls through… redemption? Well, I think ‘yes’! So that’s what this project aims to achieve! Ladies and gentlemen, I’m opening the first of its kind! A hotel that rehabilitates sinners!” You could hear it all: her dedication to her people, her faith in her people, her hope for her people. Her words fully showed how passionate she was about this project and how much she believed sinners could be saved. You feel… hopeful just listening to her.

You smile in anticipation as you wait for the uproarious applause to come from the audience…

But it never came.

Everyone in the crowd remained silent, not one person cheering at her passionate speech. Soon she realizes just how awkward the silence became. “You know, cuz hotels are for people passing through… temporarily… I figured it would serve a purpose… a place to work towards redemption… Yaaaayyy...” Charlie mutters through, trying to get any sort of reaction from the audience.

Quietly, you hear someone in the audience say, “Stupid bitch,” followed by a painful sounding punch. The insult made you furious, so much so that you turned off the TV to not hear any more people chastise her.

The fact that not one person showed any sort of support aggravated you to no end! How could no one else see how much she cares about them?! She’s put her heart and soul into this hotel, and none of them cared at all?!

Your anger was cut short by an ache in your back. Your body still felt sore from the fall. You decide it’d be best for you to try and get some rest, hoping that some of this aching would go away.

With that, you lay back down on the bed and drift off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**_BOOM_ **

You’re suddenly awakened by an explosion.

You jolt out of bed and fall onto the floor face-first. You quickly get up and try to ground yourself, panicking over that loud boom. What was going on outside?! You checked outside the window, but from your perspective, you couldn’t see anything. You could, however, hear some sort of commotion happening around the front of the building. Whatever caused that explosion probably came from there, you figure.

Suddenly, you hear another sound, but one that only confused you more. Was that… was that radio static? The static was quickly followed by the sound something breaking. Glass shattering, metal bending, people screaming. Whatever was happening outside was pure chaos, and you were terrified to find out what could be lingering out there.

Eventually, the sounds disappear. You can’t hear anything else, and that only scares you more? What happened out there? Was someone trying to destroy the hotel?

You think about what to do next.

Should you wait in here? Maybe it was Charlie and some of the employees defending the hotel from demons that thought her idea was idiotic. She’d definitely be up here soon to let you know it was safe, right? But what if someone did break into the hotel? Maybe holding up in here with your bow and arrow would be your safest move.

Or maybe you should go out and investigate what happened? Maybe you could try and escape the building in case there were demons in here that wanted to destroy the place. What if you could outrun them and make it to safety outside? But you could be running right into the fray. It could be easy for whatever caused that explosion to take you out too, so that could be a risk in leaving.

As you think, you spot your bow still sitting by the nightstand. You realize that you could take that with you and defend yourself if someone is trying to destroy the building. If Charlie was in trouble, you’d have a better chance of rescuing her with it. Maybe you could just scare them with the bow and not have to shoot them? But what if the people that made the explosion wouldn’t be deterred by the bow? It might just make you slower, so you probably wouldn’t be able to outrun anyone if you brought it with you.

**What should you do?**

  * **Cautious (Stay in the room)**
  * **Defensive (Leave the room with the bow and arrow)**
  * **Investigative (Leave the room without the bow and arrow)**



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Make your choice.](https://www.strawpoll.me/19483063)
> 
> Because you were calm, you:  
> Had a civil conversation with Nicholas  
> Didn't learn about Nicholas's life  
> Said goodbye to your family  
> Entered Hell with a weapon  
> Weren't recognized as an angel by Charlie
> 
> Firstly, I wanted to ask you guys how you would feel about having a nickname for the reader in the fic? I was thinking about calling the reader "Archer" because, you know, you have a bow and arrow. It could be used as your demon name. Or should I just stick with not mentioning anything about the reader's name? [Click here](https://www.strawpoll.me/19483086) and feel free to let me know!
> 
> Secondly, how did this blow up so much?! Thank you guys so much for checking out my fic. Even if you don't comment or leave a kudos, just seeing so many people enjoy my work really brings a smile to my face. And for those who do comment, I know I don't respond, and I'm sorry for that. But just know that it's because my brain basically goes "paoiwerqnpwe udofihakjdsmoaisdpjfkmad" whenever I read comments, so let me just say that I really appreciate you leaving kind words for me! 
> 
> With that said, I'll see you in the next chapter, which probably won't be as long as this last one was.


	4. Meet the Gang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally meet the others in the hotel, but maybe you need to work on how to interact with demons...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You chose to be defensive.

The more you thought about it, the more you panicked about staying in this room.

That explosion outside was powerful. Even though you couldn’t see its carnage, the mere sound of it told you that it could cause massive amounts of damage to the hotel. Who knew if another would come soon? Whatever it was that caused it could blow this place down in an instant if they wanted to. You’d have no chance to get out if you waited in here, and by extension, no chance to help any of the demons down here in Hell.

You needed to get out of here.

But what about the bow? 

It wasn’t exactly easy to maneuver with it on, but it’s the one thing Nick gave you to protect yourself. Sure, maybe you weren’t exactly an excellent marksman ~~or even a decent one seeing as you’ve never even held a bow before coming to Heaven~~ , but it was better to at least have a chance at saving your life if it came down to it.

It was settled then. 

Quickly, you rushed to the nightstand to pick up your belongings, and you strap the arrow bag over your shoulder. You pull out one of the arrows from it and load it into preparation with the bow. You would be prepared for anything or anyone that might try and kill you.

…Although, maybe you could stand to not aim it every time someone enters the room. Looking back on it now, you were surprised that the interaction with Charlie worked out so well considering you pointed an arrow at her. But she does seem like the forgiving type: the kind of person that could look past a person’s bad decisions and see them for the person they truly were. Even on Earth, those types of people were hard to come by on Earth, but somehow, the literal princess of Hell showed kindness even some angels don’t have.

You… admired her for that.

You’re pulled from your thoughts when you hear the sound of the front door opening and closing along with people speaking downstairs. Whoever was outside with that explosion, they were in the building. It was time to act.

You open your door, gently closing it to make sure the sound of it shutting wouldn’t alert anyone downstairs. As you close the door, you make a quick note of your room number. ‘109,’ you read. Just in case there was nothing wrong, you wanted to make sure you knew where to return to. You followed the signs on the walls that pointed you to where the main lobby was. Slowly, you crept along the hallway towards the stairs. Looking around, you notice that this looked like a normal hotel. The only main difference was the constant reds and blacks that covered all of the walls and doors.

Reaching the stairs, you listen carefully for any signs of what may be down there. It sounded like there were multiple sets of footsteps going at once, so whoever came in was in a group. It didn’t sound like there was any sort of struggle or destruction happening, though, so you proceeded to walk down.

The steps creaked slightly, making you more nervous that you may be found out by whoever was down there. No matter how carefully you stepped, you couldn’t prevent the stairs from making bits of noise. You proceed cautiously in the hopes that no one had heard your movements.

About halfway down the stairs, you have a clear view of the lobby. The first thing you notice was that there was a door that had been charred black, seemingly blown off of its hinges. You realize that whatever the explosion was must have sent the front door flying off. Other than that, however, there didn’t seem to be any other damage done to the place. Whatever caused that explosion didn’t seem to be any sort of threat.

You also notice demons there, as well. 5 demons were in the lobby, seeming to wait for time to pass. One was dashing around the pace at lightning speeds, cleaning up various spots in the room. Another, standing behind the bar while drinking from a bottle looked agitated as a lankier, taller demon appeared to be talking with him (although it sort of looked like they were flirting instead of just talking). The last two were seated on one of the sofas, having a private conversation. One of them had their back facing towards you, so you couldn’t make out any details of them. The other, however, you immediately recognize to be Charlie. You let out a sigh of relief seeing that she was safe.

You felt a bit guilt-stricken that you were so untrusting with her. After seeing how kind she was, she deserved a way better first meeting than the one you gave her. She didn’t seem to mind too much, but still, you needed to apologize for it. And now seemed as good a time as any.

“Hey, Charlie!” you call out to her. She looks to you with a smile, preparing to say some sort of greeting. However, her expression changed as she focused her attention on someone else. You follow her eyes. She was staring at the woman she was talking to. This woman seemed to be some sort of moth demon with muted colors of gray and one red X that covered her left eye. Her eyes glared at you, a threatening look on her face, and in her hands, a spear that was pointed at you.

Immediately, you lift your bow, preparing to defend yourself if she tries to attack. All of the other demons are alerted of this interaction, some looking to prepare for any sort of spar.

“Hijo de puta! Who the fuck are you?!” she shouts at you.

Charlie rushes up to the woman and grabs her arm. “W-wait, Vaggie! Put the spear down!”

“Not until this creep says what they were doing hiding upstairs!” She looks back at one of the other demons. “God damn it, Angel, I told you to stay here and watch the place while we were out!”

“How’s I suppose t’know someone would actually wanna break into this place?! It’s the laughin’ stock of the town! Figured no one ‘d willingly come here,” the demon replies.

“No one broke in to anywhere!” Charlie interrupts. “I found them outside. They were knocked out cold, so I just wanted to help them.”

“Charlie! Do you know how dangerous it is to trust a total stranger like this?” Vaggie scolds.

You needed to try and reason with her before anything crazy happened. “Look, I’m not here to hurt anyone.” You try to de-escalate the situation, not wanting to have to shoot anyone.

“Then why do you have that bow?! Don’t act like you weren’t gonna try and kill someone!”

“Oh, I’m _sorry_. Excuse me for being a bit paranoid after hearing an _explosion_ outside! I thought someone might be trying to destroy the hotel or something, so I wanted something to defend myself. And I only pointed my bow because you aimed that spear at me.”

“Well, I’m _sorry_ for being a bit paranoid when someone comes walking down the stairs with a bow in their hands ready to attack.” She responds sarcastically.

You didn’t want the tension between you to keep growing. It was time to bring this situation to a close. “Listen, I’m sorry for aiming my bow at you. I was pretty panicked after hearing that explosion, so I’ve kind of been on edge. I’ll lower my weapon as long as you lower yours too. Deal?” She doesn’t respond right away. She looks at Charlie to get some sort of reassurance. Charlie gives her a nod, telling her that she could trust you.

“…Fine.” With that, she lowers the spear. “And I’m sorry too. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t gonna try and hurt anyone here.” You nod your head, understanding her reasoning. You keep your end of the promise and bring down the bow. It was a good thing, too. Your arms were starting to get tired. You place the arrow back in the bag and strap the bow over yourself.

“So, should we start over?”

“Yeah, we should.” She looks back at Charlie. “So, you want to introduce your new friend?”

“This is… uh…” she pauses, “Huh. I guess I never got their name before I left, did I?”

“WHAT?!” Vaggie yells. “You trust this total stranger before even getting their name?!”

“I was in a rush! We were gonna be late for the interview, and… well… our introductions went about as well as they are now.”

Vaggie looks back at you. “Wait, did you threaten Charlie with the bow?” You can see the anger start to come back to her.

“…I did.” You admit. “I’m sorry, I really am. I didn’t know where I was, and I was scared that she’d try to kill me or something when she opened the door. I just… I panicked,” you felt tears start to well up in your eyes. You avert your gaze from them, hoping they wouldn’t notice, “I was afraid of dying again. I… I… I don’t want to die… But what I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have been so quick to do that… I-I’m so sorry, Charlie…”

Before Vaggie could get even more heated, Charlie speaks up. “Hey, it’s alright. I get it; you were afraid. For all you know, I could’ve been trying to kill you. I mean, there’s no shortage of murderers down here…” she looks away briefly to one of the doors in the lobby before looking back to you, “Anyways, it’s all in the past now. So, instead of focusing on that, why don’t we re-do our introductions, hm?” She reaches out a hand for you to shake. “I’m Charlie. It’s nice to meet you!” You find the courage to look at her again. She has that bright smile on again that could bring light to the darkest of places.

Even a place as dreary as Hell.

You take her hand. “The pleasure’s all mine.”

Once you broke the handshake, you turned to Vaggie to introduce yourself, only to be stopped as a much shorter demon takes your hand instead. The one-eyed demon was rather short in stature, only coming up to about your stomach. She wore a pink skirt with a white shirt, resembling an outfit from the ’50s. Her most noticeable trait, however, was the one large eye that was wide open and focused on you.

“Hi!” she says excitedly, shaking your hand vigorously. “I’m so glad you’re not gonna try and kill us. That means we can be friends! I’m always happy when making new friends. It’s always hard to make friends with people that try to kill you…” you zone out as she starts to trail off. She just talks so quickly that it makes it hard to keep up with what she’s saying. It kind of reminded you of…

It reminded you of how your sister got when she was excited.

You push that memory out of your head, deciding that now wasn’t the time to dwell on those memories. You bring your attention back to the demon in front of you.

“Uh, hey. So, what was your name?” you interrupt her ramblings.

“Oh yeah! I’m Niffty! It’s very nice to meet you! Sorry, I tend to get off topic a lot. But I’m really glad to make another friend! That’s 4 friends today! A new record!” Before you could respond, her eye spots something to the side of you, causing her to let go of your hand and sprint off. “Wow, there's a _lot_ of messes in this place, aren’t there?” She pulls a duster from seemingly nowhere and proceeds to tidy up the dirt she found.

You leave her to her work and bring your attention back to completing introductions. You finally reach a hand out for Vaggie to shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She hesitantly returns the shake, still on alert in case you try to do anything funny. “…Same. Now, will you tell us your name already?”

You realize you had neglected to say your name. As you start to say your real name, you pause. You wanted to be honest with them, but… a part of you was still a bit nervous about trusting them too much. You decide to just give them a nickname to call you until you felt comfortable enough telling them your actual name.

“Call me Archer.”

“Archer? _That’s_ your real name?” Vaggie questions. “The person that shows up with a bow and arrow just happens to be named Archer?”

“Well, no, that’s just a nickname that I thought would suit me. Mostly because of the bow. I guess you could call it my demon name?”

“Hm, I like it. Alright, 'Archer' it is!” Charlie announces. “So, hey, there’s something that I wanted to ask you…” She looks a bit hesitant to say what. It makes you a bit concerned. Does she already know your secret?

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Well… it’s about the way you look…” she stops herself. “…that came out wrong, sorry. I mean, it’s just weird that you don’t look like a demon.”

Your alarms start to ring. She’s already suspicious of how you look. You have to keep up the unaware act, though. You merely respond, “Is it?” as casually as you can.

“Yeah, just look at everyone else. Whenever someone enters Hell, they get a demon form. But you look completely human. Why is that?”

“I-I don’t know. I thought it was kind of weird, too,” you bluff. What if she already knows you’re an angel? If she’s the princess of Hell, she’d definitely see lots of angels in the Cleanses, wouldn’t she? Maybe she realized what you not having a demon form meant. But she hadn’t tried to kill you, even though she had plenty of chances by now, so why would she--

“Yeah, ‘s pretty weird, eh?” Before you can come up with an excuse, another demon speaks up, beginning to walk towards you. He gets way too close to your personal space, and he leans down to get right in your face. He was a tall, slender demon with white fur and four arms. With his sharpened teeth and darkened left eye, he looked as if he were a dangerous man. You can’t stop your hands from preparing to grab the bow.

“But, y’know what? _I think t_ _hat makes ya’ kinda hot.”_

 _That_ definitely caught you off-guard.

“E-excuse me?!” your face flushes, causing him to give a devilish smirk.

“Do you know how many demons here look th’ same? Red, black, red, black, and if ‘m lucky, a bit of white here n’ there. But _you_ ,” he pokes your chest with one of his spindly fingers, “yer’ a sight for sore eyes. Just lookin’ at ya takes me back to bein’ alive. Forgot how great some humans looked. How soft their hair was. How smooth their skin was. _How great they taste_ \--

“Oh my god! Can’t you go _one day_ without trying to seduce someone?!” Vaggie yells at him.

“What? I’m just havin’ a lil’ fun with our new friend. Don’t gotta take it so seriously.” He responds. He takes your hand into one of his gloved hands.

“N-Nice to meet you… Angel, was it?” You recall Vaggie yelling that earlier and assumed that was his name.

“Ooo, looks _and_ brains. Yer really the complete package, ain’t ya, Hot Shot?”

“H-H-Hot Shot?”

“Yeah, Archer’s an alright nickname, but you need one that suits you better. Plus, ‘t still fits with th’ whole archer theme, don’t it?” he explains. If there’s one thing you can say about Angel, he seems pretty direct.

“U-Uh, well… thanks?” You avoid eye contact, too flustered to look at him directly. You never really knew how to respond to flirting, especially when it was this blatant. You could tell he enjoyed getting a rise out of you if that pleased grin he had was any indication.

“You must be great with yer’ hands after workin’ that bow of yours. I’d _love_ to see what else those hands can do--”

“Ah, shut your fuckin’ trap already!” The demon behind the bar interrupts. “Yeesh, and I thought _I_ had it rough with your flirting. The new kid’s got it _way_ worse.”

He turns from you to address him. “Don’t worry, _Huskie_. ‘m not through with you yet,” Angel replies with a wink.

“Go fuck yourself,” the other demon says, which only causes Angel’s grin to grow. “And before you say it, I’m not gonna watch that shit.”

Side-stepping from Angel, who was blocking your path, you walk to the bar to greet the demon. He appears to be some sort of cat demon with his pointed ears and long tail. He had an unamused expression, his eyes showing disinterest in whatever you had to say. A key trait he had was the set of wings on his back, the ends having the four suits found in a deck of cards. In his claws, he was clutching a bottle with the label “Cheap Booze” printed on it that he had been drinking this entire time.

You reach the bar, taking a seat on one of the stools. “Hi there,” you say, offering your hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Huskie.”

He chokes on his drink from hearing that. Behind you, Charlie and Vaggie have shocked expressions while Angel cackles hysterically. Confused by what you did wrong, you’re startled when you feel Husk grab you by your shirt collar in a death grip.

You see the rage in his eyes as he stares you down. You feel yourself shrinking into your seat as much as you could, “U-U-Um, w-what’s wrong? Did I say someth--"

“First off, it’s _Husk_ , not _Huskie._ That prick’s just got a death wish givin’ me that name. So don’t go callin’ me that again, got it?!” He exclaims.

“Oh, I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to--”

“Second,” he cuts off, “I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but that’d just be a lie, wouldn’t it? Cause if I’m bein’ honest, you seem like you’re just another annoying sack of sh--”

“Husk, that’s enough!” Vaggie interrupts. “You’re not supposed to be rude and snap at people like that! You’re supposed to man the front desk. Front desk workers are supposed to be _friendly_ with people. You can’t just yell and insult anyone like that!”

“Yeah, Vaggie’s right.” Charlie joins in. “It was just a misunderstanding, that’s all. You have to learn to calm down with people. Now, let’s try that again, shall we? Shake their hand and _kindly_ introduce yourself,” she scolds.

Husk huffs at their remarks, releasing your shirt and going back to his bottle. After taking a swig, he looks back at you. “Fine.” He gives one of his hands out to you, which you accept. “Name’s Husk. It’s _so nice_ to meet you. There, you fuckin’ happy?” He says looking back to the girls. Charlie nods with a small smile while Vaggie shakes her head in annoyance.

“It’s nice to meet you.” You say back. “And I’m really sorry about earlier. I had no idea.”

He doesn’t say anything. He just looks at you, thinking about something. You can some of the anger subsiding, which relieves you. He breaks the shake. “Tch, whatever,” he says as he returns to his drink.

Charlie comes over, putting an arm over your shoulder. “Don’t mind him,” she tells you. “He just has a short fuse. And the alcohol probably isn’t helping with that.”

“It’s alright. I’ve dealt with people like that before,” you say, thinking back to _someone_ you met in Heaven. “But they’re not always like that. Just when they’re at their worst.” She smiles at your understanding.

“Hey, so to bring it back to the alcohol,” Vaggie says. “I still say we should get rid of the bar. I mean, the whole point of this place is to _stop_ people from sinning, so why would we--”

“Fer the last time, we’re _not_ gettin’ rid of the bar!” Angel contests, “It’s the only bit of fun in this place. It stays!”

“You’re not in charge of this place! You don’t get to decide what happens here!” She argues back.

“Okay, that’s enough! Both of you!” Charlie stops their argument. “Okay, how about this? I’ll leave it to a vote. If more people think the bar should go, it goes. If more say it should stay, it stays. Does that sound fair?”

Vaggie doesn’t seem too pleased with the idea, but she goes along with it. “Ugh, fine. We’ll vote.” She finally gives in. “I vote that we get rid of it.”

“Well, _I_ vote that we keep it,” Angel says.

“Alright, so that’s one for each. Husk, what do you think?”

“Hah! You’re kiddin’, right? This bar’s the only reason why I’m workin’ here. The bar stays.”

“Okay, what about you Niffty?”

Niffty, who was still picking up around the hotel, rushes back to where you were all gathered. “Well, the bar is gonna have a lot of messes. Anyone could drop one of the bottles, and that’d make a huge mess of shattered glass. Plus, the drinks might stain the carpet, so I’d have to clean that too. And who knows what sort of bugs might try to get at the drinks when it’s spilt? It’d be a lot to clean up after, wouldn’t it? So, I think we should get rid of it. What do you think, Archie?!” she addresses you.

“Huh?” you’re surprised that she asked you. You guess since you were the last one to vote. But you’re caught off guard by something else she said. “Wait, ‘Archie’?”

“Yeah! I think it’s cute, don’t you?!” she answers.

“Well, that’s 2 to 2. What do you say, Archer? Should we keep the bar, or get rid of it?” Charlie asks.

You’re the only one that hasn’t voted yet. It’s up to you to break the tie. Should the bar stay or go?

You consider both options briefly.

If you chose to keep the bar, it’d definitely make Angel and Husk happy. Vaggie and Niffty probably wouldn’t be too pleased, but it might be a good way to get customers coming in. It could be a necessary evil to help people.

…But then you think of getting rid of it.

The whole point of you coming down to Hell was to help sinners improve themselves. Plus, as Vaggie said, the reason this hotel was built in the first place was to discourage sin. What kind of message would that send to other demons if they saw a bar in an anti-sin hotel? It goes against everything this place stands for.

And, well... you didn't exactly have the best history when it came to alcohol.

You knew this choice would upset Husk and Angel, but it didn’t matter. It was for the good of everyone else.

Your decision is clear.

“I think we should--"

“Oh, is there someone else out there?”

Another voice interrupts, startling you. The voice was… odd. It sounded as if it came out of an old radio broadcast. And… you couldn’t help but feel you’ve heard the voice somewhere before. You look to see where the new voice came from.

A new demon walks out of one of the rooms. As he approaches you, you get a clearer image of his intimidating features. The demon had bright red hair with elongated ears and short antlers, similar to ones deer have. Wearing a formal red and black suit accompanied with a bow tie and monocle, he held a cane with an old-fashioned microphone attached. But the most unsettling thing about him was the wide smile he had that felt unnerving just to look at.

“Oh, hey! We were just introducing the new demon to everyone. Come say hi to Archer!” Charlie says to the new demon that walked in.

There was something… vaguely familiar about his face. It was considerably distorted with his demon form, but you recognize the general facial structure he had. You knew this man from somewhere when you were alive, but how could you recognize him? From the sound of it, he seemed to be here for a long time, so you couldn’t have just run into him one day at the store, or something.

“Pleasure to meet you, my new friend!” he reaches a hand out, expecting you to return the shake. But instead, your hands reach behind you to grab your bow and an arrow.

When he spoke again, you realize who he was.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is---”

“Alastor.” You finish for him, raising your bow back up. “You’re Alastor, aren’t you?” You re-aim your bow back on him.

Almost everyone seems surprised by that reaction, even Husk who raised his head out of curiosity. Alastor, however, kept that smile on his face. In fact, it seemed like it somehow grew, seeming entertained by that reaction.

“Hold on, how do you know the Radio Demon? He’s been here since the ’30s.” Charlie asks you.

“I saw a documentary about him on TV one day. You’re that radio host from the South, right? The one that turned out to be an insane serial killer, right?!”

“Ah, I’m so well-known that I was broadcasted on the picture show, am I? Then you must be a big fan of my work! Perhaps you would like me to give you an autograph?” He snaps his fingers, summoning a paper and pen out of seemingly nowhere to write his signature.

“A-A-A fan?! Why on Earth would I ever be a fan of a deranged psychopath like you?!” It was one of those crime documentaries you saw one day. The show talked about a homicidal talk show host that did terrible things to people. He was a brutal, malicious killer that took great pleasure in his “craft”. The detective they interviewed said his motive for committing the murders was just to give people something to talk about. Just for the sake of giving a show for people. This vile, disgusting man fits in so well here in Hell. A monster with no care for the value of life. Someone you’d never want to meet.

And yet, here he was, a smile on his face as you threaten to shoot him.

“Archer, hang on!” Charlie gets your attention. “Don’t worry, he’s not gonna do anything. Just lower the bow, okay?”

“Are you crazy?! He’s dangerous, Charlie! What if he tries to kill someone? He might already be planning to kill me when I drop my bow!”

Alastor briefly chuckles at that comment, sending the pen and paper back to wherever they came from. “Believe me, dear. If I were going to kill you,” Alastor says, walking close enough touching the tip of your arrow with his finger. Suddenly, his face morphs, his eyes becoming dials and mouth becoming a speaker. You see why the name “Radio Demon” was so fitting for him. The static you heard outside from the explosion returns, becoming louder and louder in your ears.

“ **You’d already be dead.”**

Your eyes widen at that, hands starting to quiver. The others remain frozen, afraid someone might set him off. You thought Angel would be the most dangerous in the group, but that couldn’t be more wrong. Alastor had no issue showing just how powerful he was compared to you.

~~You hated to admit it, but you were _terrified_ of him.~~

“Hey!” Vaggie intervenes. She approaches Alastor, distracting him, and you take the chance to take a few steps away from him. “I won’t let you go around making threats like that. If you’re here to help us, then you can’t haras--”

Alastor’s face reverts to how it originally was, maintaining that wicked smile. “Hmm. Well fortunately for you, I have no plans to kill you!”

“…You don’t?”

“Good heavens, no! I would never _dream_ of killing a new friend! Anyone who’s a friend of our dear, sweet princess is a friend of mine! Now, why don’t you lower your bow so we can properly introduce ourselves?” He raises a gloved hand to you. “My name is Alastor. How lovely it is to meet you!”

You don’t lower your bow yet. Something feels off about this whole thing. But you don’t want to do anything rash.

“… Charlie, are you _sure_ you can trust him? This man’s killed a lot of innocent people. You’re okay with him working here?”

She looks away for a moment before responding. “Look, I know he’s dangerous, and he’s hurt a lot of people, but I made this hotel to help rehabilitate demons. What kind of message would I be sending if I turned him away from helping?” She had a point. You hated that it made sense, but she had a point. You hadn’t even said a word to him before threatening him. You needed to be more accepting of him. For this to work, you had to believe in the demons that came in.

And… you trusted Charlie. If she trusts someone, you could too.

“…Alright,” you say, “I trust you. But I _don’t_ tru--”

Alastor was gone. He was standing there just a few seconds ago. How could he just disappear in the time your attention was on Charlie?

“Wonderful!” he shouts behind you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

“Ah!” you scream in a panic, causing you to jump. In your panic, your hand loosened, releasing the grasp it had on the arrow. The arrow took off, quickly flying across the room. And in the arrow’s path stood Vaggie. She hastily moved to the side, narrowly avoiding the arrow that almost landed on the X of her eye. The arrow found its way lodged into the wall, landing next to a framed photo of Charlie and two other demons in what looked to be a family photo. But your attention wasn't focused on the arrow. You’re far more concerned with what almost happened.

You… you almost killed Vaggie. Because of one stupid mistake, you almost became the very thing you hated.

“Oh… oh my gosh. Vaggie, I- he just- he snuck up behind me and- I-I panicked and-”

“Save it,” she cuts off. “I don’t want to hear it. Just leave me alone!” She storms out the front door, angrily clutching the spear in her hand. You just stood there, dumbfounded at nearly murdering a demon.

_The very thing you swore to not do._

No one says anything for a good while, afraid to add to the tension that had already formed in the room.

“Well!” Alastor eventually breaks the silence. “That was quite the show you put on, my dear Marksman! Quite a show, indeed! You know how to keep things oh so lively, don’t you? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish making dinner. We’ll be having Jambalaya tonight! Hope you enjoy!” He announces as he walks back to the kitchen.

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna head back to my room ‘til dinner’s ready.” Angel says, heading for the stairs, “Oh hey, Hot Shot,” he pauses as he passes by you, lowering himself to your ear, “ _If ya’ wanna get ta know each other_ _a lil’ better, my door’s always open_ ,” he whispers to you with a wink. You blush from shock at that remark, and that gets a good chuckle out of him. With that, he heads up the stairs to his bedroom.

“I shouldn’t stay here either,” Niffty says. “This hotel still has plenty of places to clean!” She pulls out a duster and begins a thorough cleaning of the lobby, picking up dust hidden around the lobby. “Nope, nope nope. Still not clean yet!”

“You’re not planning on cleaning the whole hotel today, are you?” You ask. “That’s gonna take forever! You want some help?”

“Oh, don’t worry, Archie. I can do it! Just gotta make sure this place is _spotless,_ ” she emphasizes as she stabs a spider with a needle and cleans the cobweb. You have to admit, it kind of creeps you out how she killed it with a smile, but you keep silent about it and let her do her job. She darts up the steps to work on tidying up the rest of the hotel.

“Heh, the new kid’s got guts, huh?” you hear Husk say as he leaves the bar. “I like your style. Not a lot of people would threaten the Radio Demon like that. Least, not the ones without a death wish.”

“Well, I’ve already died once, so it’s not like he could do anything worse.”

“Hah! Trust me, y’don’t wanna know what he’s capable of. He’s not a man to be messed wi—HHMP!” He stops, bringing his free hand to cover his mouth as his other holds his stomach. “Fuck, I need to lie down…”

You dart over to him, wrapping your arm around him for support. “A-are you okay?!”

He freezes as he feels you hold him, only to suddenly pull himself out of your grasp. “Fan-fuckin’-tastic. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go pass out.” He ignores your attempts to help as he proceeds up the stairs.

“Wait, let me get you some medicine!” Charlie shouts to Husk as he walks upstairs.

“Don’t need it. I got all the medicine I need right here,” he says as he shakes the bottle of cheap booze he’d been drinking since you first saw him. He turned back, using the wall for support, and made his way to one of the empty rooms.

That just left you and Charlie in the lobby.

“Well, the introductions could’ve gone better,” Charlie says.

“Yeah, no kidding. I left a lasting impact on some of them, huh?”

“Mhm. Hey, Archer, when you have a chance, do you think we could talk in my office? There’s something I wanna ask you. But if you want to talk with some other people first, that’s totally fine! Just… come if you want…” Before you have a chance to respond, she quickly walks off into her office and closes the door behind her.

Everyone had gone off to do their own thing, leaving you standing there alone in the lobby. Now that you were alone, you had a chance to process everything that just happened with those chaotic introductions.

Maybe aiming a bow at them wouldn’t leave good first impressions, but they couldn’t blame you for being worried about the explosion, right? Then, of course, there was the whole incident with you shooting the arrow. That definitely could’ve been handled better. Vaggie isn’t very happy with you right now. Alastor… you can’t tell how he feels about you. But at least the other four seem to like you, or at least not mind you.

You can’t help but groan in frustration. It felt as if you broke any sort of harmony these people had because of your itchy trigger fingers. Maybe bringing this bow with you from Heaven was a bad idea. You knew Nick had good intentions when he gave it to you, but you didn’t realize how much you’d rely on it. You used to be so trusting of other people. Now, however, it seemed impossible for you to trust anyone. It was probably because they were all demons, but that wasn’t a good enough excuse.

In the middle of your self-reflection, you take a seat down on the couch. But when you do, you feel something under your wait. You feel around to see what it is you sat on, and you find something you’d completely forgotten you brought with you.

It was the halo.

You pull out your halo from your back pocket. Looking at its subtle white glow takes you back to just a few days ago. How happy you felt when you first got it. How great life was back in Heaven with your family.

You hear that little voice of doubt in your head telling you that you made the wrong choice. You should’ve just stayed in Heaven with your sister and lived the rest of your afterlife in peace. Could you really save anyone by yourself? You couldn’t help but feel that you were in over your head…

But then you look back down at the halo.

_And it reminds you of why you’re here._

You’re here to show that demons can be redeemed. All they need is someone to guide them down that path. All it takes is one person to make change happen. And that’s what you came here to do.

This is the path you chose. And you intend to see it through to the end.

 _No matter what_.

A newfound determination sparks in you, the passion you first had for this mission returning. You realize that nothing will get done if you just wallow in your self-pity. These people down here needed your help. So you would do everything you could for them.

Change starts now.

With that in mind, you plan your start on how to help. Everyone in the hotel was here to help the demons down here, so you needed to improve your connections with them. The best thing to do now would be to go talk to some of them.

But who?

You considered going to talk to Charlie. You had to admit, you were curious about what she wanted to ask you. And this would be a good time to talk to her about helping her with this hotel.

Of course, you could go check in with Vaggie. You never got to apologize after almost shooting her earlier, and you wanted to try and make amends as soon as you could. Might as well be now, right?

Angel Dust was another option. He came off as pretty flirtatious, but it would be nice to get to know him better. Maybe you should take him up on that offer and visit him?

…Going to talk to Alastor crossed your mind. You didn’t want to talk to a serial killer, but maybe someone should check on him to make sure he isn’t doing anything funny. And… maybe you should apologize for aiming your bow at him…

Niffty seemed like she could use some company. She already seemed to like you since she immediately called you a friend. You know she said she didn’t need help, but if she’s gonna be cleaning up the whole hotel, maybe helping her would show her that you’d like being friends.

Lastly, maybe checking in on Husk would be smart. He’d seem pretty sick from drinking so much. Maybe seeing if he was alright would be good for you. Plus, he seemed to like you, or at least he enjoyed that whole fiasco earlier, so maybe he’d open up a bit to you.

You had a lot of options to choose, but you had to decide:

**Who do you spend time with?**

  * **Charlie**
  * **Vaggie**
  * **Angel Dust**
  * **Alastor**
  * **Niffty**
  * **Husk**



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Make your choice.](https://www.strawpoll.me/19621804)  
> Voting ends April 2nd. For this vote, the 2 people (or 3 depending on how I'm feeling) with the most amount of votes are who you'll hang out with. But just vote for the 1 person you want to spend time with most. (Because the link doesn't work for some people, I'll just count both poll votes and comments, so please be honest and only vote once.)
> 
> Because you were defensive:
> 
> You left your room on your own will  
> You defended yourself against Vaggie  
> You apologized to Charlie  
> Angel was interested in you  
> Niffty was weary of you at the start but still became your friend  
> Husk wasn't fazed by you  
> You threatened to shoot Alastor  
> Alastor enjoyed meeting (and messing with) you  
> You almost shot Vaggie, and she stormed off
> 
> Hey, remember when I said this chapter wouldn't be as long as the last one? Haha, yeah idk what happened, but it was somehow even longer XD. But hey, hopefully, that just means there's more story to enjoy, right?
> 
> So, for the Archer poll, since most of you said that you'd like the nickname, I went a step further and gave everyone a special name to call you. Charlie sticks with Archer, Angel gave you Hot Shot, Niffty gave you Archie, Alastor gave you Marksman, and Husk just calls you Kid (cuz he really doesn't care about 'staying in the theme' or anything). I couldn't think of a good name for Vaggie to give you, so feel free to leave any suggestions. Or should I just scrap that idea and have them all just call you Archer? Let me know what you think.
> 
> It was a really close vote, honestly. But I forgot to mention that the vote would after a week of the chapter being up just to make it easy on myself. I think that'll be the typical amount of time for voting. If I didn't, it'd be really delayed because just today, Investigative just beat out Defensive (and I didn't want to have to re-write this whole chapter just to get rid of a stupid bow XD).
> 
> But thank you all so much for reading! I'm so glad so many of you enjoy the story, and it's a great motivator to keep on writing. And another thank you for everyone who comments! I love hearing your feedback on the story or just seeing people care enough to vote, so I appreciate you guys for doing that. I hope you enjoyed!  
> P.S. Sorry this came out a week late. It's been sort of hectic with, you know, the whole world going mad. But my family and I are doing fine, and I hope all of you are too!


	5. Quality Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to know some of the gang better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Votes:  
> Charlie-14  
> Vaggie-18  
> Angel-1  
> Alastor-5  
> Niffty-8  
> Husk-6

You made your choice.

The first person you decided to go to is Vaggie.

You needed to make amends with her. She was livid when she heard what happened with you and Charlie; who knew how much worse it would be since it was her? If there was any chance of mending the damage done, it had to be now while the wound was still fresh.

But you were… _slightly_ nervous about talking to her. There’s no way she’d be happy to see you after what just happened, and she’d most likely have harsh words to give you. Still, you knew apologizing to her was the right thing to do. It wasn’t an easy choice, but the one that needed to be done.

With that resolve in mind, you head towards the front entrance. It was somewhat weird exiting the building considering the front doors were still not back in their place. Before you even leave the lobby, you can see where Vaggie is from the doorway.

You find her sitting outside, viewing the scenery around her. The lively city in the distance, the demolished plots of land spread across, and, most notably, the crimson pentagram that looked down upon all of Hell. In its own morbid way, it was a nice piece of scenery.

You begin approaching her. She didn’t seem to hear your steps since she was still looking out into Hell, so you call out to her. “…Hey, Vaggie…” you’re barely able to get it out, voice quivering in fear of how she might react. You see her jump a bit at hearing from you, but she doesn’t move from her spot. For a while, she stays motionless. Not turning to face you or even walking away. She seemed contempt with simply ignoring your presence. But you persisted on. “Listen, I just wanted to- “

You’re interrupted by the feeling of something zoom past your head.

Instinctively, you duck out of the way of the incoming object as fast as you can. Behind you, you hear the object land into the wall of the hotel, adding another repair job alongside the front door. You turn and see that it’s the spear that Vaggie had in the lobby. ‘Did she actually try to kill me?’ you wondered. Once you recover from that near-death experience, you focus enough to see Vaggie’s enraged face. You could tell she was mad to see you, but she didn’t appear to be at all mad about missing you.

“There. We’re even. Now _get out of here_.” She turns her back towards you, sitting back down and looking out into the underworld.

You stay motionless, unsure of what to do now. You wanted to apologize, but it was hard when she wouldn’t even look at you. You’re tempted to go find someone else to speak with, but you know that you need to say your peace. With no better plan to get her to talk, you walk towards the spear lodged in the wall. You grab the end of the spear and try to pull it out. It’s wedged in there pretty well, and it takes a few tugs to loosen it up. Eventually, you pull hard enough to yank the spear out from the wall. It’s still in great condition, the blade still sharp enough to do serious damage to whoever ends up on the wrong side of it.

Cautiously, you walk over to where Vaggie is sitting. She seems to be in deep thought, not even paying attention to you. You give a brief cough with gets her to notice you, and she sees you offering her spear back to her.

“…I’m sorry.” You finally get to say. “I’m sorry for what happened in the lobby. I should’ve been more careful with the bow. I just didn’t expect Alastor to suddenly be behind me, you know? But still, that’s no excuse for what I did.”

You can see Vaggie considering your words, trying to decide how sincere you were. She looks down from your face to your hands with the spear presented to her. She takes the spear from you, but she doesn’t respond to your apology. Instead, she turns away from you once again and goes back to looking at the sky.

It seems clear that she wants nothing to do with you. You hated to admit it, but she wasn’t gonna forgive you with just that. Heck, she may never forgive you and continue giving you the cold shoulder. ‘Oh well,’ you think. ‘I can’t force her to like me.’ Slightly defeated, you head back to the hotel to find someone else to talk to-

“What do you think of it down here?” Vaggie suddenly asks.

You turn to her, eyes widening in surprise that she spoke. “Huh?”

She looks your way, the anger she initially showed being replaced by a much calmer expression. “Hell. What do you think of it?”

It takes a moment for you to fully process the question. You were still in disbelief that she wanted to have a conversation with you, but you weren’t opposed to it. “Well…” you start before considering your response. You wanted to give an answer that wouldn’t risk giving anything away, so you try to stay as neutral as you can about it. “… I guess it just wasn’t what I was expecting it to be.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” She beckons you over to take a seat next to her. You make your way over to her before plopping down on her right. “What’d you think Hell would be like?”

“Hmm, probably something more like what you’d hear from the Bible, you know? Like sinners having to live in misery in ‘eternal damnation’ or something. But really, it’s like a… what’s a good way to put it?... It’s like a sinner’s paradise.”

“'Sinner’s paradise’, huh? I’d say that’s a good way of putting it. And yeah, I thought Hell would be pretty much the same as you thought it would be. When I first came down here, I was terrified.” She focuses her attention back to the red sky above. “I figured I was gonna have to ‘atone for my sins’ here, but honestly, it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it’d be. Sure, we’ve still got plenty of chances of dying and horrible demons down here that I wouldn’t mind showing the edge of my spear to, but overall, there are some decent people that make Hell livable.”

“Really? You don’t mind being here?”

“I mean, it wasn’t my first choice of where to spend the afterlife, but overall, I think it’s a good thing I ended up here. I can help the decent people here that want to work towards redemption. To become better people and go to Heaven.”

That wasn’t what you expected. Even though you knew not every demon wanted to try and better themselves, you never thought you would hear someone as kind as Vaggie say that it was good they ended up in Hell. “So, if you had the chance, would you want to try to get to Heaven yourself?”

She looks at you, shock and a bit of anger written on her face. “Are you kidding me?! Why would I want to live up there with all of those self-righteous assholes?!”

“Wait, who’s self-righteous?” you ask, even though you can tell exactly who she was talking about.

“Oh yeah, I forgot you’re new to this place. You see that white sphere up there?” she points up to the sky, and your eyes follow to where she’s pointing. Sure enough, it’s some sort of land that’s encased in a white spherical shield, most likely there to protect it from demons. Without much thought, you quickly realize what that is.

“Is that Heaven?”

“Sure is. Tell me, what do you think angels are like up there?”

“To get to Heaven, doesn’t your soul have to be void of sin? So, I’d imagine that they’re all good people up there.”

“You’d think, wouldn’t you? But no! They’re nothing more than a bunch of murderers that think they’re justified in slaughtering us!” The anger keeps growing as she speaks, but it’s the first time that her anger isn’t because of you. “You see, every year they do this thing they call the “Annual Cleanse”, which is just a nice way of saying they exterminate us. They come down here and kill as many demons as they can, and they say it’s just to reduce the population and ‘purify the afterlife’ or some bullshit like that. And they want to pretend like they’re the good guys?! Fuck them! Fuck _every one_ of those ‘angels’ that like to show off how great it is to be in Heaven by destroying what we have here!”

This wasn’t looking good for you, you realize. It wasn’t as if you could blame her for her deeply rooted hatred for the angels, but it’d be hard to work with her if she, unknowingly, wanted you dead. “Hey, come on. I’m sure not every angel agrees with these ‘cleanses’. There has to be plenty of good angels that want the same thing you do.”

“Oh yeah? Then why haven’t any of them come down here to help?! For decades, these exterminations have been going on, and not _once_ has any of them tried to end the slaughtering. Why do you think that is?”

“Maybe they’re scared of what’ll happen if they come down.”

“Hmph. They should be. Believe me, if I ever run into an angel, they’re gonna get a taste of what they’ve done to us.” Her grip on her spear tightens, getting lost in the fantasy of that interaction. “ _I’ll give those angels their own personal Hell._ ”

Every word she spoke sent chills down your spine. The pure animosity she has for all angels doesn’t bode well for you, and you wonder if being around Vaggie is the wisest choice for you. If she found out you were an angel all along, who knows what would happen? You decide it’s best to get off of this topic of discussion.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, she snaps out of her thoughts. “H-hey, calm down. Don’t worry about the angels. They’re not coming back to Hell for a while, so let’s not think about them… They’re not worth hating, right?”

She blushes a bit. “… You’re right. Sorry, sometimes I get a bit hot-headed…” she seems a bit embarrassed at how angry she became.

“It’s alright. Let’s just… focus on the here and the now.”

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that,” a gentle smile appears on her face, for once looking to be at peace. You, however, can’t give a smile after that talk, still shaken by everything she just said.

She looks off into the vast world of Hell, and you join her, trying to take your mind off of Vaggie’s words. That city, though parts of it were nothing but rubble now, still was home to many of the demons. It may be full of terrible demons that enjoy their life of sin, but you know that some of those people want to be redeemed. And it’s thanks to people like Vaggie that redemption isn’t impossible for those people. She genuinely cares for people and wants to help the good in demons come out, and she’s clearly been working hard to achieve that possibility.

You had a lot of respect for her because of that.

“Hey,” she interrupts your thinking by placing a hand on top of yours. Her face is blushing a bit again, and you can feel your cheeks turn a bit red, as well. “Thank you for coming out here with me. Sometimes, it’s good to just vent out anger for a while and just watch the world around you. I’m glad I got to spend some time with you, even though we didn’t have the best introductions. I say we make it official,” she lifts her hand off of yours and leaves it open for you. “Friends?”

You’re terrified of her. Her adamance for wanting to kill angels should set off red alarms that she shouldn’t be someone to get close to. She could kill you in a heartbeat without a second thought and have a smile on while she did it. No one in your position would ever call someone like that a friend…

… And yet…

… You couldn’t turn her down. Sure, she loathed angels, but for an understandable reason. You couldn’t blame her after all the years of exterminating demons. All the animosity was because she believed in the same thing you did - no one had to die to help improve the afterlife. She believed that demons could be redeemed if they tried, and she wants to help the people stuck down here to achieve that goal. Vaggie was like a rose: she had the danger of thorns that could easily cut anyone who approached, but the gentleness of the flower to those she’d open up to. She was a good person, no matter what she thought of you or the other angels. And that’s someone you want to be close with.

You take her hand, giving her a nod with a smile.

“Friends.”

It was a normal shake, no different from the one you gave her in the lobby. A few seconds, and then you break contact…

…Or at least, it should have been…

But after you shook, you didn’t break contact. You waited for her to let go, but she held on, her grip still strong holding your hand. At first, you were confused. She didn’t seem like the type to enjoy physical contact, so why hadn’t she broken away yet? Was she unsure of how long to hold on? Or maybe she was just waiting for you to let go. But then, you felt her thumb stroking your hand in small, circular motions. The touch shocked you, and you looked up to her face. Her cheeks were brighter than before, but she still had a happy expression. That’s when you understood.

She didn’t want to let go.

She wanted to hold onto a friend for a little while. Just a brief moment of comfort to let her know that someone cared for her down here.

You wouldn’t take that away from her.

You smile at her as you squeeze her hand, reassuring her that you were there for her. She’d be safe letting down her walls around you.

She could trust you.

Eventually, she breaks away with a sigh, standing to her feet. “Okay, I think it’s time for me to get back to work. Oh, and Bow?”

“Bow?” you repeat questioningly.

“Oh, uh, I figured I’d hop on board with the rest and give you a nickname? Should I call you something else?”

You shake your head. “No, I like Bow. It suits me,” you chuckle a bit, causing Vaggie to join you. “So, what were you saying?”

“Oh yeah. I, uh, I realize I never said it, but I forgive you for what happened in the lobby. Thanks for coming to apologize for it.”

You smile back to her. “Don’t mention it,” you tell her. She returns the smile and waves, making her way back into the hotel.

You stand up, looking back on that whole conversation as you look at the city. You weren’t sure where your apology would lead, but it worked out very well for you.

You were definitely still scared of Vaggie. But you ended up making a new friendship with her.

Despite all of the fear, all of the worry, all of the uncertainty…

You were happy to be friends with her.

* * *

Heading back into the hotel, you know who you want to talk with next.

You were curious about what it was Charlie wanted to talk to you about. It didn’t seem too urgent since she said she wouldn’t mind you talking to other people, but she wanted to speak to you regardless.

As you stand in front of her door, you can’t help but hesitate from knocking. A bit of paranoia finds its way into your head. She already seemed a bit suspicious about your appearance (not that you could blame her), so she might already suspect that you were an angel.

Even so, she’s been nothing but kind to you this whole time. She might just want to get to know you better, you think, and even if she does think that you’re an angel, she doesn’t seem like the type of person to hurt you.

You’re willing to take the chance.

You knock on her door. “Hey Charlie, it’s Archer.”

“Oh, hey! Come on in!” she answers in a cheerful tone.

When you opened the door, you see a room that, unlike the rest of the hotel, was bright pink instead of red. The room had standard office items like a desk with a computer on it and a few filing cabinets, but the walls were decorated with a bunch of posters with words of positivity on them. On her desk are a few different desk toys like a newton’s cradle as well as a framed photo of her and Vaggie together. In her seat, Charlie is typing away at something on her computer, not focusing on you. Still, she smiles as you enter the room.

“Hey Archer, have a seat!” she offers, pointing to the chair in front of her.

“Hey, so uh, you wanted to ask me something?” you ask as you sit down on the chair.

“Yes, I did,” she finishes typing something on her computer, turning her attention to you. “As I said before, this place was made to help rehabilitate sinners. And I’ve been really excited to open this hotel for a long time now.” Her smile starts to fall as she continues talking. “But… today, when I gave my speech on the news… it… didn’t go well…”

“Yeah, I saw part of the interview,” you tell her, “but I was too mad at the demons’ silence to keep watching. I mean, how could they not even react after your speech?! If it means anything, I think your speech was well done,” you say, trying to offer support.

“…Um…” she seems hesitant to keep talking, “So you didn’t hear me sing?”

“What? No, turned it off by that point. Why?”

“Well, it got worse from that point.” You can tell it hurt her a bit bringing up this story. “I’ve always been pretty… passionate about what I believe in, and after my speech didn’t do anything for the audience, I thought a song might make them get into it. Plus, I love singing, so I was more than happy to perform for them!”

“Okay, so you sang a song about the hotel. That doesn’t sound too bad. What happened next?”

She sighs. “After I finished the song, the room was quiet. I thought it meant everyone was about to applaud, but instead… they all started laughing at me.”

“They did _what?!”_ You could feel your blood start to boil. And you thought the silent treatment was bad enough. Who would do that to her on live TV?! What kind of monster would laugh at her like that?!

“Yeah, and then right after that, I was angry too, so I _might have_ called the host a bitch, which brought complete chaos to the studio…”

“I-“ There were so many parts of her story that you couldn’t believe. First, the audience being so cruel to her, the studio going insane, and the fact that she actually called someone a “Bitch”. You never thought she would be one for that sort of language, so that made you think whoever that host deserved it if Charlie would call her that. “I’m sorry it all went so bad.”

“Thank you, but you don’t need to apologize. The point is that everyone in Hell thinks that this idea is stupid, and no one would want to be redeemed. Most don’t even think demons can be redeemed. So that’s where you come in.”

“M-Me?”

“I think that if we show everyone that rehabilitating demons isn’t an impossible dream, then more people would be willing to come in. That’s why I wanted to ask if you would consider… maaayyybe staying here and working towards redemption?”

That certainly wasn’t what you were expecting. “Wait, so you’re just offering me a place to stay?”

“Yep! I figured since you’re new to Hell and probably don’t want to go out to the city when there’s a turf war happening, this hotel might be the safest place for you.”

“There’s a turf war happening?”

“Mhm. Every year after the extermination, demons fight for more territory. In fact, Angel was just in one while I was at the interview.” She says that last part with a bit of frustration with it.

“Huh. I mean I appreciate your concern, but why do think me redeeming myself will help the hotel?”

“I’m glad you asked! The best way to get people coming in is to show them that redemption isn’t impossible. I need someone that can prove that if you really try, you can be a better person. And honestly, you seem like someone that doesn’t deserve to be down here.”

Well, _that_ wasn’t a good sign. “W-what makes you say that?” you ask.

“Hmm. I don’t know how to explain it, but you just seem… different from a lot of the demons I’ve met.” She starts. “All my life, I’ve lived around demons. I’ve seen some do horrible things to other people. But I’ve also seen some that are good people trapped in a bad situation. You seem like one of those people. That might explain why your body hasn’t changed: you still have a lot of humanity in you. And if you worked hard to better yourself, you could definitely get into Heaven soon. That way, people will see how easy it can be for demons to reach redemption!” Her excitement grows as she talks more about her plan. “So, what do you think?”

As nice as the offer sounded, it wouldn’t help you reach your goal. You came down here to help other demons just like she’s trying to do. If you wanted, you could probably finish redemption by the end of the day and go back to Heaven. But if you did that, you won’t have changed anything. The angels probably would have thought they just sent you back up here since you weren’t one of them or something. The exterminations would still happen, and demons would still die off. You needed to help send a real demon to Heaven. And for that to happen, you needed to stay in Hell.

“I appreciate the offer Charlie, I do. But I don’t think I can take it.”

“Yes! Thank yo- Wait, you won’t? W-why not?!”

“Umm… How do I put it?” As much as you hated lying to people, you couldn’t be honest about this. You didn’t want to chance of telling the wrong demon about yourself. So, you needed an alternative. Something that was the truth, but not the full story.

That's when it came to you.

Just speak from the heart.

“…I guess I just don’t want to go to Heaven yet?”

“Really? Why?”

“Because… I want to help you.” You said, keeping your gaze on her. “Seeing how passionate you are about this- how much you care for demons, no matter how cruel they may be- it inspired me. I believe that these people can be changed, even if they don’t, and I want to help them be better people. But if I’m up in Heaven, I won’t be able to do anything else to help.”

She’s stunned by that response. “S… So, the reason you don’t want to go to Heaven… is because of me?”

“Part of it, at least. This isn’t gonna be an easy job, so I want to be by your side to see this dream happen. So please. Let me stay here, and I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

She remains silent, still mouth agape as she thinks of what you said. Then, in the blink of an eye, she rushes over to your side of the desk and wraps her arms around you, making you raise yours in surprise. “Oh, thank you thank you _thank you_!” she elatedly says.

You lower your arms back down and return the hug she’s giving you. “It’s nothing. I’m just happy to help!”

“Our hotel is gonna be AMAZING!!!” she yells with glee.

But what she said didn’t sound right. “Come on, I had nothing to do with making this place. It’s your hotel, not ours-“

“No, it’s not just mine!” she interrupts, releasing you from the hug and gripping your hands to look directly into your eyes. “If it weren’t for you and everyone else here supporting me, this hotel wouldn’t happen. It’s thanks to all of us that this hotel will change lives. It’s _ours,_ ” she says with a seriousness you haven’t seen from her before.

From the sounds of it, she didn’t seem to get much support from most of the demons. In all fairness, it did sound like a crazy idea. The concept of demons learning to become better. At first glance, it seemed impossible.

But even with everyone against her, even if she became a laughingstock, even if this would be a hard path to follow, she still kept her head up through all of it. Her aspiration of saving these demons was like nothing you’ve seen before. Someone who can stay so optimistic in the trials she’s had to overcome. You knew nothing in the world would be able to stop her. Charlie’s dream would become a reality.

And you’d be there through every step to help.

You smile, tightening your grip in her hands. “Alright. _Our_ hotel will be amazing.”

She smiles back, her gentle eyes locking with yours. You get lost in them, enraptured by her features. She truly was beautiful, both inside and out, and you felt lucky just to be this close with her.

Eventually, she lets go, returning to her seat. “I still have some more things to finish up here. Why don’t you go talk to more people and get to know some of them better?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that. See you around, Charlie.”

“See you later, Archer!” she says as you walk out of the office.

Coming out of her office, you think about how everything turned out. You remember feeling scared that she might have found out your secret: how nervous you were to talk to her in the first place. It all felt like such a silly idea, looking back on it.

All she wanted was your help. Someone there to support her dream. To truly make a change in Hell. To end the killing of so many people.

And she found you to be there for her.

You would help the demons like you always planned.

And you would do it alongside your new friend, Charlie.

* * *

Walking away from Charlie’s office, you consider who to speak to next. Maybe you’d take up Angel’s offer and get to know him more, or maybe you should check on Hus-

You stop thinking as something dashes down the stairs and crashes into you, causing you to fall over.

After you hit the ground, you look around to see what caused you to trip. It turned out to be…

A little spotted pig? It was bright pink with a few spots of a darker magenta shade. It also was covered in brown spots that didn’t seem to be a part of its skin color. The pig made eye contact with you, giving you a curious look. You had to admit, it was a weird sight to see a normal animal in Hell, but you couldn’t help but finding the pig cute.

“Aww, hi little guy,” you say, sticking a hand out to pet it. The pig seemed to be interested in you, and it waddles towards you and sniffs your hand. “What are you doing in a place like this?” You give it a few scratches behind its ear, and it happily leans into the touch. It was cute, but it was rather odd for the pig to be in the hotel, let alone being in Hell.

“HEY!” you hear someone scream from the top of the stairs, “Get back here!”

The pig sprints off, heading into another room in the lobby. You think it was the kitchen that Alastor was currently using.

The person that was shouting comes running down in a hurry. It turned out to be Niffty, who currently looked… less than pleased at the moment. The dress she had on was now stained with those same dark spots that the pig was covered in. Her normal upbeat demeanor was completely gone, instead replaced with total rage. The utter _fury_ her aura gave off made you freeze in place. She looked absolutely terrifying.

“Uh, Niffty?” you say. “Is everything okay?”

“Archie!” she hurries over to you “Did you see a little pig run by? It was pink and covered in dirt, it had a little swirled tail, and it was wearing a collar. Did it come by here?”

“Yeah, it just ran into the kitchen when it heard you. Why? What happened?”

“Well,” she starts, “I had just finished cleaning up one of the hallways when I heard a little ‘oink’ behind me. That’s when I saw that little _menace,_ ” she says with as much scorn as possible. “I tried to shoo it away so it wouldn’t make a mess, but it ran into one of the tables in the hall, knocked over a flower vase, and got dirt _everywhere_. _THEN,_ it rolls around in the dirt like the _disgusting abomination_ it is, gets its feet dirty, and leaves trails of dirt from the hallway down the stairs! And now, I have to reclean all of the staircases and that hallway, so sorry if I come off a bit _irritated_ at the moment.”

“I-it’s fine,” you tell her. You were honestly a bit surprised. You wouldn’t have expected her to show so much rage like that, but she seemed to hit her breaking point. “Why don’t you try to calm down first? Just take a few deep breaths and relax.”

She sighs. “You’re right. I just need to calm down a bit.” She closes her eye, inhaling a breath through her nose and releasing it out of her mouth. She does this a few more times, and the anger in her facial features gradually leaves. With one final deep breath, she opens her eye again, regaining her composure. “There, I feel better,” she says, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find that pig and make sure it _never_ makes another mess like that again.” A sinister look appears on her face, planning out what she’ll do when she catches that pig. You knew whatever she had planned, it wasn’t going to have a happy ending. You had to stop her.

Before she could sprint off again, you grab her arm. “W-wait! You don’t need to hurt the pig. Let’s just clean up the mess and move on, alright?”

“But if I don’t get rid of the pig, it’s just gonna make more messes that I’ll have to clean!”

“I think you already taught it what happens when it makes a mess. I doubt you’ll need to worry about it anymore. It found its way into the hotel; it’ll probably find its way out. Let’s worry about the mess for now. I can help if you want.”

She looked at the door, contemplating whether or not going after the pig was worth it. Would she rather get her revenge on the pig or clean up with a friend? Finally, she turns to you. “…Alright, let’s get cleaning. Though I left all of my supplies upstairs. Come on, let’s go!” she grabs your arm and bolts off back up the stairs, making sure to avoid the tracks the pig left behind. You were caught off guard by how strong you were, and she seemed to have no trouble pulling you along with her. Definitely not what you expected given her small stature.

When you finally reach the hall with the start of the mess, you see why Niffty was so frustrated with the pig. There was dirt all over the place. Parts of the walls, carpets, and desks were dirtied from the flower vase. Seeing some of the other floors so spotless, you understand better how much trouble that pig caused for Niffty.

“Welp, no time like the present! Let’s get to work!” Niffty said with newfound vigor, pulling you to where she’d left her supplies. She didn’t seem to be intimidated by the mess like you were. Instead, she seemed rather eager to tidy up this place to how it should be.

"I can take care of the big mess where the vase landed if you want to get started on the tracks. Sound good?”

“Sounds like a plan!” she agrees. You pick up a broom and dustpan that was left with the other supplies while Niffty grabs the carpet cleaner and carpet brush.

You go to the “scene of the crime”, as it were, where the majority of the dirt had splattered. You also see the shattered remains of the vase that once held the dirt mixed in. Sweeping up the bits, you find the red hibiscuses that used to be in the vase buried under the pile. It was somewhat a sad sight to see, the beautiful red flowers sitting on the ground covered in filth. You pick up the roses, planning on finding a new home for them, before throwing out the dirt you picked up.

Turning back around, you see Niffty diligently scrubbing away at the carpet, making sure every last speck of dirt was removed. You couldn’t help but feel bad for everything she was doing.

Even though she could be a bit intense, you respected how hard she worked. Never had you met someone so quick, yet thorough, when it came to cleaning. She wanted to ensure that this hotel was in perfect condition, and her dedication to her job was evident based on how neat the rest of the halls looked. Yet under all of that, you knew she must be tired of all of this. She’s already done a deep cleaning on a bunch of other floors. You feel like she at least deserves a break-one that doesn’t involve chasing after a pig.

“Hey Niffty, check out what I found,” you say, showing her the flowers that you grabbed. “Do you wanna come with me to find another vase for them?”

“In a bit. Let me just get these stains out really quick…” she focuses back down on the carpet.

“Come on, it’ll just take a second. You can step away for a bit; it’s not gonna be stuck there forever.”

“I know, but it just bothers me when things aren’t spotless…”

You laugh a bit. “Yeah, I figured as much. But we’ll be quick, I promise. Come with me. Please?” She shouldn’t have to feel obligated to make this place look perfect. She should be able to enjoy some time away from cleaning, too.

She eventually sighs, giving in to your request. “Alright, but just for a little bit, okay?!”

“Deal.” You help her up, taking her hand and walking her down the hall a bit. You expected Niffty to run ahead of you and drag you again, but she stays behind, still yet to let go of you. You don’t think much of it as you walk down the hall a few paces more.

Eventually, you find a flowerpot with the same flowers you held. “This is as good a spot as any. Now, let’s try to make them look nice.” You let go of Niffty’s hand to-

“Wait!” She shouts, startling you. “D-Do we have to put all of the flowers back?”

“What do you mean?”

“I was just thinking… maybe we should each keep one? You know, just for a little memory of this?”

You look at her, dumbfounded. “You want to remember this? I figured you’d want to forget this whole ordeal happened.”

“I did, but…” she looks away a bit saddened, “… I don’t really have friends to spend time with. But… I like spending time with you. It’s nice to have someone help me, you know? You’re one of the few friends I have down here…”

You just can’t find it in you to say “no” to that face. And, even though it was tedious work, you have to admit, you enjoyed your time with her as well. You smile down at her. “Okay, we can each take one with us. Here,” you took out a hibiscus from the bundle and handed it to her. Her wide smile came back as she took it from your hands. You place the rest of the flowers in the vase after pulling one out to keep. Without a good place to put it, you end up sticking it in your hair for now. You’d put it in your room when you had a chance.

You turn around to see that Niffty had the same idea you did, having the hibiscus stick out in her pink hair. She looks up at you, her eye focused on the flower you wore. She giggles a bit, finding it funny that you both decided to wear your flowers, and you join her in her laughing.

She seemed like a much different person now than the one you ran into in the lobby. She may be filled with lots of energy, but even she can enjoy some of the calmer moments from time to time. It was nice to see her not worry about making sure everything was perfect and just having some fun for herself.

She deserves that…

But you could tell she was starting to get antsy about not working.

“Told you we’d be quick. Now let’s get the rest of these tracks picked up.”

“Right! Let’s go!” She grabs your hand again and runs back to where she had been cleaning. With the big pile picked up, you join her on the carpet, scrubbing away at the trails left by the pig.

For most of the cleaning, the two of you were pretty quiet, trying to pick everything up as soon as you could. Niffty, unsurprisingly, was much quicker than you were, but she always smiled at you, telling you how you were doing a great job. It made you feel good knowing that you were able to take some of the load off of her shoulders.

You had finished most of the floors when suddenly, you hear someone sprinting down the stairs from the level above you. To your surprise, it turns out to be Angel Dust, who looks panicked over something.

Angel looks at the stains on the carpet, which causes his eyes to widen. He runs over to where you two were cleaning. “You guys! Has either of ya seen a lil’ pig? It was pink n’ had a couple a’ spots on it? I checked every floor above, but I couldn’t find nothin’!”

“Why? Did that pig make another mess?! I swear if that pig knocked over another vase…” You could see Niffty start to lose her cool again.

Not wanting her to get mad again, you took her hand and made her look at you. “Calm down, Niffty.” You try to get her attention away from the pig. She nods her head, telling you that she was fine. You turn back to Angel to help him out. “And yeah, the last time I saw the pig, it was in the lobby. Why are you looki-“

“Of course he’d be in the fuckin’ lobby!” Angel snaps. He smacked his forehead with one of his hands, looking frustrated for wasting his time. “Look, I’ll explain everything later, but thanks, sweetheart!” He runs down the stairs, presumably to head to the lobby in the search of that pig.

“What do you think all of that was about?”

“Who knows? I told you that pig was trouble,” she murmurs under her breath.

“Oh well, he’ll probably be fine. Come on, we’ve only got a few floors left. We can do it!” She gives a little joking salute at that, scrubbing even harder at the stains. You continue to clean even harder, knowing that you were in the homestretch until, finally, you were at the last floor. Making it to the lobby, you can’t help but fleel a sense of pride in all the work you did. Sure, Niffty might have done the bulk of the work, but you were glad to be there to assist her. And she seemed to feel the same way.

“Archie?” Niffty gets your attention, talking slower than she normally does.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“Well, um… I just wanted to say thanks for helping me clean up. I know no one likes to clean, but it was nice of you to do this with me. I really appreciate it!”

You smile at her. “Of course, Niffty. That’s what friends are for, right?”

Niffty looks at you, a much gentler smile than normal on her face along with a little blush. “That’s right… we really are friends, aren’t we…?” she says with a hint of disbelief in her tone.

Wanting to prove you were being honest, you get down on your knees and bring your arms around her. You knew you’d get some of the dirt on you, but that didn’t matter right now. This was much more important than any old stains. “Of course we’re friends, Niffty. I’m sure friends are hard to come by in Hell, but I’m telling you the truth. I’m your friend. Now, and forever.”

She seems hesitant at first, but eventually, she brings her arms around your shoulders. She might have hugged you a bit too tight as you were starting to get harder to breathe. But she seemed happy as it is, so you figured you could endure it a bit longer.

She’s the one that breaks the hug, which your lungs are grateful for, and she looks at you with that kind smile. “Thank you, Archie,” she says so softly, you almost miss it.

Seeing this side of her, the one where she’s not constantly worrying about being perfect, where she can just let loose and have some fun in her job…

As her friend, you’d make sure she could enjoy more moments like this.

Picking up the last few splotches of dirt in the lobby, you look up to see someone else standing there…

Someone you were _dreading_ to have to see again…

_Him._

* * *

Husk was feeling like _shit_.

Before he left, he snagged one of the room keys to hide out in one of the rooms so no one would bother him. He hadn’t felt too good for a while now ~~probably from all of the booze he had earlier today~~. His stomach was queasy, and his head felt like it was hit by a truck. He thought he would lie down and try to sleep off the pain.

The problem was his stomach had other ideas.

He jumped out of the bed and made a beeline for the bathroom and kneeled right in front of the toilet.

Almost instantly, everything he had earlier that day came out.

He’d had night’s like this, sure, but this was way more violent than his average hangover. It’d been a while since he felt this bad.

The disgusting smell made everything that much worse.

After he was done vomiting, he lied down on the floor, too weak to stand up right now. This insistent headache wasn’t helping him, either. He felt as if he could pass out right there on the bathroom floor. In fact, he almost did.

But then he heard someone jiggling his door.

Husk jumps up, preparing for someone to try and break in. He remains silent to not give himself away. If his time in the forces taught him anything, it’s that stealth could save your life.

And without stealth, it could mean your death.

~~He learned that the hard way.~~

Eventually, the jiggling sound stops, and he hears footsteps walk away from the door. But Husk isn’t ready to take any chances.

He arms himself with the bottle of booze he had with him, ready to smash it over the trespasser’s head. Cautiously, he approaches the door and peeks through the hole to see who’s outside. He doesn’t see anyone standing there, but he needs to make sure. He places his hand on the doorknob carefully to not alert anyone that may be hiding outside, and he quickly opens the door, raising his bottle to attack…

…But no one was there…

He looked around the hall, but there was no one else in sight. No sign that anyone was even on this floor. It was like whoever was here was gone in a hurry.

Did he just imagine hearing that? Maybe it was the booze making him hear things. Maybe it was time to cut back a bit…

‘Fuck that,’ are his thoughts to that idea.

He returns to his room, shutting the door behind him and locking it up. He makes his way back into the bathroom to clean up the mess he left behind. Fortunately, most of it ended up in the toilet with a bit that landed outside of it, so it wasn’t too much to pick up. He wraps some toilet paper in his hand and wipes up any vomit that missed the toilet, then he threw it in the bowl and flushed it down.

With that taken care of, Husk figures he might as well clean himself up, too.

He starts the shower up, waiting until the water is nice and warm. Taking off the bowtie and top hat, he hops in the shower, letting the water wash off all of the vomit that got onto him. Even after he was cleaned up, he remained under the water, enjoying how soothing the water felt hitting his skin. But he knew he should get out soon before he falls asleep in there.

Finishing up in the shower, he shakes off as much water as he can before snagging a towel to dry himself. That was one thing he hated about ending up as a cat in Hell: picking up some of the mannerisms that cats have.

He walks out of the bathroom and collapses on the bed, finally ready to rest before that _deer dick_ would call him down for dinner.

He was, to put it mildly, less than excited to have to go down and have _another_ bowl of Alastor’s jambalaya. He always loved showing it off to people whenever he could, and Husk had been dragged into plenty of dinners that Alastor made.

~~He wouldn’t admit it, but he actually enjoyed Alastor’s cooking.~~

It wasn’t the food Husk wanted to avoid; it was getting chatty with the other people.

Though to be fair, he didn’t think most of the people here were too bad.

Charlie would get on his nerves if she was around for too long, but she seemed like an alright gal.

Vaggie was pretty intense, and she was ready to toss out the one thing that was keeping him here: the bar. Needless to say, he wasn’t the biggest fan of her.

That Niffty would get pretty annoying, too. Just too much energy for him to take at once. But again, she seemed like a decent enough person.

Then there was the new demon.

Despite how bad your first words to him were, he could tell you were a good kid. He’ll admit he got a kick at you challenging Alastor, something no sane demon would ever do. A part of him didn’t want to warn you about him just to see you do it again, but he didn’t want to see you get killed off for having guts.

Overall, he didn’t mind you all that much.

But the one person he _absolutely_ couldn’t stand was that slutty spider that needed a lesson in personal space.

“That stupid fuckin’ spider…”

* * *

Angel was _freaking_ out right now.

He had just walked to his room after all of the hubbub in the lobby. He just wanted to get some rest after the busy day he’d had. But when he got to his room, his eyes were wide open in panic.

His door was wide open.

He thought of who could’ve been in his room. Someone must’ve snuck in while he was out, he figured. But he’d worry about finding out who did it after checking if _he_ was okay.

He yanked the door all the way and began frantically searching every inch of the room. “Fat Nuggets!” he called, “Where are ya? It’s okay, Daddy’s home!” He grows more and more desperate the longer he searches.

After searching every part of the room, he couldn’t find any sign of the pig. He sat down on the bed, fearing what could’ve happened to his pet. Before he let his mind spiral too far in despair, he calms himself down, trying to figure out what exactly happened. Maybe it was that one-eyed shorty cleaning the rooms? Or maybe that tight-ass moth found out about Fat Nuggets?

But then…

_Fuck…_

He realized what happened.

Before he left to do his “public service” for a client, he realized he accidentally forgot to grab his wallet. Not wanting to be late, he hurriedly snagged the wallet from his nightstand and sprinted out of the door without making sure it was locked. But in the rush of it, he didn’t completely close the door. It was still left a bit open, and Fat Nuggets was able to push it open.

Angel leaped out of the bed and ran into the hall, looking for any clue as to which way he went. He knew Fat Nuggets wasn’t in the lobby since everybody was just down in the lobby, so he tried to search the rest of the floors above.

On every floor he searched, he checked every room door to see if any of them were open. Every door he tried, though, was locked up tight. He continued ascending the numerous sets of steps, becoming more and more frustrated with each floor.

“Why are there so many fuckin’ rooms in this place?!” he screams in frustration after going through at least 6 stories with no success.

While looking at the 7th floor, he heard someone shouting from lower down. “HEY! Get back here!” It sounded like it might’ve been that cleaning lady he ran into a few floors down, but Angel didn’t pay much mind to it. He was more focused on finding his pig!

He finally reached the top floor of the hotel. After doing the final search of all of the rooms and finding none of them open, he felt crushed. Fat Nuggets wasn’t anywhere in the hotel. Now, he’d have to go search outside of the hotel in the hopes that he was still wandering around nearby.

A few floors down, he finds you and Niffty cleaning one of the halls. He looks at the stains you two were cleaning and notices it.

The stains were Fat Nugget’s trail! 

Upon this realization, he rushes over to the two of you. “You guys! Has either of ya seen a lil’ pig? It was pink n’ had a couple a’ spots on it? I checked every floor above, but I couldn’t find nothin’!”

“Why? Did that pig make another mess?! I swear if that pig knocked over another vase…” the maid’s eye twitched in agitation.

“Calm down, Niffty. And yeah, the last time I saw the pig, it was in the lobby. Why are you looki-“

“Of course he’d be in the fuckin’ lobby!” Angel couldn’t help but interrupt you, frustrated with his bad luck. “Look, I’ll explain everything later, but thanks, sweetheart!” He sprints past you two and down the stairs, nearly falling down a few times in his haste.

Finally, he makes it down to the lobby. He scans the place in search of his pig, and next to the kitchen door, he sees him.

_Fat Nuggets!_

He was covered all over in dirt and looked to be eating something on the floor, but whatever it was, Angel didn’t care. Instantly, he dashes over to him, picking him up off the ground and swinging him around. “Oh, Fat Nuggets! I’m so glad yer alright! You almost gave Daddy a heart attack! Don’t ever leave my room again, y’got it?!” He looks the pig dead in the eyes sternly, trying to get his point across. The pig, though, just let out an “oink” in response, and that was enough to break Angel’s serious expression. He gives his pet one last hug.

“C’mon, let’s go back to our room. Daddy’s had a _long_ day.” He carries the pig back up the stairs, making sure that no one else was there to see the pig. When they get back, Angel plops Fat Nuggets onto the bed. He was too exhausted to give him a bath right now, so he figured he’d get a quick nap in before dinner. He lies down on the bed carefully as to not bother the pig, who was already drifting off to sleep.

There were a lot of crooked, shady people in Hell, especially in his line of work, but Angel knew his pet pig was one of the good souls trapped down here. How could such an adorable animal like this not get into Heaven? Whatever the reason, Angel didn’t care. In a way, he was glad. With all of the insane demons here, having this bit of normalcy in owning a pet helped keep him grounded.

Angel loved his little oinker, no matter how much trouble he caused.

But he couldn’t help but wonder …

Just where that pig had been before he found him…?

* * *

The smell of his mother’s jambalaya always made Alastor happy.

The pleasant scent of the dish brewing brought him back to the wonderful days of being alive. Oh, how he wished he could indulge in that scent for a little bit longer!

However, his attention wasn’t focused on the dinner he was cooking for the rest of the hotel staff.

Right now, he was cooking for a… _special guest_ that made their way into the kitchen.

While he was chopping the peppers, he was rudely interrupted by something barging in, causing him to cut his finger with his knife, bringing a sharp pain to his hand. As angry as he was, though, he knew that he had to be a good host and keep a smile on. So, he lowered the flame on his pot and put it on the back burner before he washes the blood off of his hand. He pulled out a different ingredient from the refrigerator and took it out of its packaging, then set a few pieces on the hot pan carefully to avoid the grease from popping at him.

As the grill sizzles, he brings his attention to the hungry patron. A pink and plump pig had somehow stumbled its way into the hotel. Being the generous man he was, Alastor was never one to turn down a hungry soul, so he was more than happy to give the little animal a quick meal! After a few minutes, the dish was finally ready, and the pig seemed more than ready to have something to eat.

“Here you are, little fellow.” he bends down, dropping the food on the floor for the uninvited guest.

The little swine eagerly chowed down on the strips he was given, not that Alastor was surprised. Who could resist a meal as delicious as this?

After all, _everyone loves bacon._

He watched as the pig ate every last piece off of the floor. It seemed pleased to have such a wonderful treat, and Alastor was more than pleased that his guest was able to… _pig out_ on the food. He let out a laugh at his own joke. “Good piggy,” he complimented. “But now it’s time for you to leave.” He walks towards the kitchen door with an extra strip of bacon and throws it into the lobby. Once the pig was out, he shut the door behind him and locking it. Finally, without any distractions, he dumps the peppers into the pot and mixes the pot.

As he went back to stirring the jambalaya, his mind wandered back to the events that transpired in the lobby.

The new “demon” was… an unexpected twist to Alastor.

He couldn’t quite get a handle on you. For most demons, it isn’t too hard for him to figure out why they ended up in Hell.

You, though. You were different.

He first assumed it was because you had killed someone since you carried that bow around. But he could see your hands shake as you had it aimed to him, telling him that you felt fear in taking another’s life. In fact, despite having a weapon, you didn’t seem like the type for violence at all. You seemed like the type of person to try to get along with everyone, so it most likely wasn’t for hurting someone in any way. There were numerous possibilities for what sins earned you a spot in Hell, but Alastor couldn’t think of one that would fit you.

Perhaps he’d have to spend some… quality time with you to figure it out.

He draws himself out of his thoughts and back to the pot in front of him. After one last taste test, he could finally say his meal was just right. The hint of spice that didn’t overpower the flavor of the savory chicken. The vegetables and rice that perfectly complimented the prawns. The jambalaya was perfect.

~~Just like mother used to make it.~~

He pushes that thought away and goes to plate all of the dishes. Alastor would never admit it, but he always found pleasure in seeing others react to this dish. It made him happy to know that something his loving mother made was able to be enjoyed by people who never knew her. It was a sort of legacy she left behind, and although Alastor was confident she was enjoying life in Heaven, just having this dish to remember her by was enough.

As he steps out into the lobby, he sees you and little Niffty cleaning up stains in the carpet that he knows weren’t there before. He can’t help it as his Cheshire grin grows wider.

“Why hello, darlings!” he says, approaching the two of you. You both turned to him, Niffty seeming much happier to see him than you were.

“Oh, hi Alastor!” Niffty greeted him. You stayed behind, picking up the last bit of dirt that the pig left behind. “How’s dinner coming along?”

“Dinner is ready! I came out to let everyone know it was time to eat. But how are _you_ doing my dear Marksman?”

You seemed hesitant to answer, not looking at his face. “… Hey Alastor…” He could hear the displeasure in your voice of having to talk to him, which only made him smile more.

Innocently, he asks, “Hm? Is something the matter, dear?”

You still can’t look him in the eyes, but you muster up the ability to speak to him once again. “…Listen. I shouldn’t have aimed my bow at you. I know it was wrong...” You continue to ramble on about how you shouldn’t have judged him so quickly and it wasn’t how you should greet someone. Almost none of it was authentic, but he doesn’t call you out on it. Begrudgingly, you finally say those magic words. “I’m… sorry” Alastor can tell you don’t completely believe what you’re saying. He knows you’re just trying to be polite. But he’ll take what he can get for now.

“All is forgiven, my good friend! I understand you were rather frazzled at meeting a celebrity you know so well, so I don’t blame you for not knowing how to act.” He sees the agitation grow on your face. He comes close to you and wraps an arm around your shoulder. You try to push away a bit from his grasp, but he tightens his grip and brings you closer to him. “I’m so very glad we can move on from that and start over! And what better way to start that than with a freshly cooked meal? Now, come on into the dining room while I gather everyone else!”

He gives you a final pat as he goes off to find the rest in the hotel. “Are you okay, Archie?” he hears Niffty ask you.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Come on, let’s go eat.” You two walk off to the dining room, Niffty quickly dragging you by the arm.

He wanted to figure you out. Out of everyone in the hotel, you’re the one with the biggest mystery for him to crack. It’s been quite some time since another demon piqued his interest as much as you have.

He can tell that you’re going to be very, _very entertaining._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because you spent time with Vaggie, Charlie, and Niffty, you:
> 
> Made amends with Vaggie  
> Learned about Vaggie's hatred for angels  
> Convinced Charlie to let you help with the hotel  
> Gave Charlie hope for her project  
> Grew closer with Niffty  
> Shared flowers with Niffty  
> Didn't help Husk when he was feeling sick  
> Didn't help him stop drinking  
> Didn't help bring Fat Nuggets back to Angel  
> Didn't get to know Angel more  
> Didn't stop Alastor from giving bacon to Fat Nuggets  
> Didn't get to understand Alastor better
> 
> No choice in this chapter!
> 
> I thought for this one where not much plot happens and it's all about bonding with the gang, I wouldn't put an important choice in it. There'll be one next chapter when there are actually things that happen.
> 
> Let me say, I was kind of shocked by who ended up getting picked. I expected one of the boys to get picked, but it turned out to be a ladies' night, I guess XD.
> 
> I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter, I know it was a long wait, but I hope that it being a longer chapter makes up for it a bit.
> 
> Stay safe, and have a good day!


	6. Dinner Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You enjoy a meal with your new acquaintances. Afterward, you all plan what to do next.

“I’m so very glad we can move on from that and start over! And what better way to start that than with a freshly cooked meal? Now, come on into the dining room while I gather everyone else!” Alastor had his arm firmly gripped around you, a smug grin plastered on his face that showed how much he enjoyed your agitation.

He finally releases his grip, and you waste no time moving away from him. You walk next to Niffty, more than happy to finally be away from that _creep._

“Are you okay, Archie?” Niffty asked you, holding onto your wrist.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine. Come on, let’s go eat.”

“Great! All that cleaning made me hungry! Let’s go!” she says as she pulls on your arm, leading you into the dining room. You stumble a bit at the force she has. She must be starving since her grip was even stronger on your wrist than before.

Walking into the dining room, you observe the scenery before you. It was as if the whole room was built for a five-star hotel. Among the room were several tables neatly scattered around, each adorned with red tablecloths and candles. Hanging above the room was a crystal chandelier that served to light the room. However, the most notable feature of the room was the elevated stage for live performances, accompanied by a grand piano on the side. Luxurious was the best way to describe the place.

“Woah…” you ogle at the sight. “This place is beautiful! Charlie must’ve spent tons of time into making this…”

Niffty looks around the room, as well. Only her face looks less impressed than yours was. “It is nice, but it could use some tidying up, don’t you think?” She grabs one of the tablecloths to examine it. “These sheets need to be washed for a bit. And I bet that piano has some dust that can be picked up. Maybe I can clean up a bit while we wait for everyone-“

You grab her shoulder. “Niffty! It’s okay, you’ve cleaned up enough for one day; you deserve a break. Let’s just talk until the others get here, alright?”

Her eye meets yours as she considers your words. “…You’re right. Let’s go take a seat. We get first dibs on our spots!” she says as she drags you to one of the nearby tables.

You took a seat in the center of one of the longer sides of the table. Niffty quickly chooses her spot, selecting the chair that is direct across from you.

“Oh man, I can’t wait to finally eat! I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I was until just now.” Her point is proven by a rumble made by her stomach, causing her to blush.

You chuckle a bit at her embarrassment. “Yeah, I’m… looking forward to eating, too. Tell me, have you ever tried what Alastor is making?”

“Oh yeah! I love his jambalaya, it’s delicious! It has that little kick of spice that feels _so_ good for some reason! And the chicken is always really tender and flavorful! I don’t know how he does it so well every time he makes it. I think he said it was a family recipe or something, so maybe that’s why he loves cooking it so much.”

“Maybe,” you say. “So, you don’t think he’s gonna try and, like, poison it or anything?”

She considered your question for a second before answering. “Probably not. When he kills, he prefers it when there’s more blood. Poisoning’s never been his style.”

Her nonchalance unnerved you, but you figured that she’s seen a fair amount of death down here. Alastor’s killings probably aren’t anything new to her.

“Okay, just making sure.” Even with her reassurance, however, you found yourself still wary about eating his food. There’s no telling what a disturbed man like him could be planning to do.

Maybe getting some more info about him would be good.

“Hey, Niffty? What can you tell me about Alastor? I know he’s dangerous, but what, specifically, has he done?”

“Well, he was a serial killer when he was alive, but you knew that part already,” she says.

“Yeah, I knew that. But I’m sure he’s not the only murderer here, and yet everyone seems to be somewhat afraid of him. Why is that?”

“Oh, that’s because he’s one of the strongest overlords there is.”

“An overlord? What’s that?”

“They’re demons that are a lot more powerful than most others. Whether it be more abilities or influence, they can be dangerous. And a lot of people are afraid of Alastor for that.”

“I see,” you respond. “So, you think he’s dangerous to have around here, right?”

“Meh. Honestly, I’m not that worried about Alastor now.”

“Huh?” You were confused by that. “Didn’t you say he was a powerful overlord? I think it’d be reasonable to worry about him.”

“Yeah, but I think he’s being honest about wanting to help with the hotel. And he can be nice when he wants to be. I think he’ll be a good person to work here with us.”

“If you say so,” you tell her, unsurely. Even with her reassurance, you’re unconvinced. You still didn’t trust him as far as you could throw him.

While you two talk, Charlie comes in, walking over to the table you’re sitting at. She chooses the seat to the right of you, greeting the both of you with her cheery smile.

“Hey, guys! How’s everything going?”

“Great! Archie and I were cleaning up the hotel after a pig made this _huge_ mess- oh yeah, there’s a pig running around the place- and we got _super_ dirty, and we got these flowers to wear, and-“

“Hold on, we have a _pig_ in our hotel?!” Charlie interrupts.

“Yeah, it ran past me in the lobby. You should’ve seen Niffty, though. She was _livid_ ,” you add, laughing a bit at the memory. Niffty blushes a bit and looks away.

“Hehe, yeah I was really mad. But don’t worry! I feel a lot better now. And it’s all thanks to you, Archie!” She offered a sincere smile your way.

“That’s great and all, but we have to address the fact that there is a _pig_ in the hotel!” she exclaims, trying to direct the conversation back to that topic. As she speaks, Vaggie walks into the room, heading towards the table.

“You alright, hon? What happened?” she says as she takes sits down on the chair to your left.

“Vaggie, did you know that a pig got into the building?”

“What?!” She slams her hands on the table. “Are you kidding me?! No one’s gonna take us seriously if we have livestock walking around! Is it still in here?!” Her nails tear a bit into the tablecloth under her hands.

“I agree, we have to deal with it before someone sees it. But I’m wondering how that pig got in here in the first place,” Charlie ponders. “I mean, I know the hotel wasn’t in perfect condition, but we never let it turn into a pigsty! Who could’ve brought it in?”

“Um,” you say, getting their attention. “I don’t want to point fingers, but I’m pretty sure Angel has something to do with the pig getting in here.”

“Oh, of _course,_ he’d be responsible!” Vaggie angrily says. You can see her eye start to twitch in agitation, anger becoming more and more visible. Under her breath, she mutters, “Maldita araña.”

“Calm down, Vaggie,” Charlie says, attempting to console her. “Archer, why do you think Angel’s involved with the pig?”

“Well, when Niffty and I were cleaning up the mess it made, he came running from upstairs and asked us if we’d seen it,” you explain. “I figured he was looking for the pig like Niffty was earlier, but he didn’t seem angry. In fact, he looked kind of panicked.”

Niffty chimes into the conversation. “Yeah, and when we told him it was probably in the lobby, he ran really fast down the stairs. I think he was worried about the pig. Maybe it’s his pet or something?”

“Well when he gets in here, he’s gonna get a piece of my mind,” Vaggie says with gritted teeth.

Charlie gets up, passing you as she goes to Vaggie’s seat and gives her a hug from behind. “Calm down, Vaggie. Don’t get so worked up over it,” she comforts.

“Yeah, it’ll be alright, Vaggie. For now, just take some deep breaths, alright?” you ask, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving a gentle squeeze.

Charlie looked nervous at your contact with her, but Vaggie’s expression of anger was subsiding. She took a few breaths to release the pent-up aggression, and soon enough, that gentle smile you knew was back.

“Okay, I feel better now. Thanks, guys.”

Charlie seemed surprised at the exchange, but the surprise quickly turned to excitement. “Wait, did you two make up?!”

Vaggie is the one to answer her. “Mhm. Bow apologized, we had a nice chat, and now we’re good. Right, Bow?”

“Exactly. Everything’s great between us now.”

Charlie’s eyes start to literally sparkle with joy from hearing that, grabbing the two of you and tightly hugging you both. She lets out a squeal of giddiness, the sound amplified from how close she was holding you to her. “I’m so happy you’re both getting along! 

Your eyes look up at Charlie, a joyful presence in her expression. You fix your gaze onto Vaggie, who seemed to be as startled as you. She simply shrugged at you and brought her arm around Charlie. You do the same, smiles appearing on both of your faces.

In the midst of it, you see Niffty on the other side of the table, seeming a bit downhearted from being left out. It brought pain to your heart seeing her feel that dejected. You get her attention by offering your free arm out to her.

“Niffty, you wanna join us?”

Her smile immediately comes back as she wastes no time to run to the other side of the table and wrapping her arms tightly around your torso. Unable to bend down in your position, you stretch your arm down and hold the back of her head in an attempt to return her hug.

After all the chaos that’s happened since you’ve been here, this brief moment of harmony was exactly what you needed. Just these few seconds in your friends’ embraces were enough to make you content with your choice to come to help these demons. Admittedly, it was getting a bit hard to breathe with all of this hugging. But with how happy everyone felt right now, you couldn’t help but enjoy it, too.

You didn’t want the moment to end…

…

But of course, the hug couldn’t last forever, and you were all pulled out of the moment from hearing another voice coming in.

“Well, what do we have here? Some sorta freaky four-way you got goin’ on? If ya want a fifth, I’d be more than happy to join in,” Angel remarks with a sultry tone.

“YOU!” Vaggie breaks away from the group and snaps at Angel. “Why the hell did you think you could bring a pig into the hotel?!”

“W-what?!” Angel stutters, “I-I dunno what yer talkin’ about, toots. I, uh… I didn’t even know there was a pig in this place. Why would ya think he’s mine?”

“Then why were you looking for it earlier?” Niffty interrupts. “Obviously, you knew about the pig, and we know you were worried about it when you asked us if we’d seen it. Why are you lying about it?”

“Uh… that’s cuz… uh…” he was panicking, eyes not daring to look at anyone. “…It’s none of ya business!”

“As long as it’s in this hotel, it’s _entirely_ my business!” Charlie adds. “Now, why didn’t you tell us you’d be bringing a pig with you?!”

He can’t find an excuse quick enough, and it doesn’t feel right to make him this scared. You had to say something.

“Angel,” you address in a gentler tone, “please. Just be honest. No one’s gonna hurt the pig or anything; we just want to know why it’s here.”

“And how am I s’posed to believe that?!” he asks. “For all I know, that broad might try t’ skin him alive after I tell you about him.”

“Oh, believe me, that’s the plan. So if you don’t start talking _right now_ -“

“Vaggie, let’s at least hear him out,” you interject. The anger in her face hadn’t lessened at all, but she did listen to you, looking away and muttering under her breath. “Thank you. Now Angel, talk to us. Please.”

He looks in your eyes, his nervousness calming down a bit as he on you. Finally, he concedes. “…Fine. Yes, the pig is mine. His name’s Fat Nuggets, and I found him a while back after providing some of my… services. I couldn’t just leave him alone out there! He’d be a pork chop if the wrong guy found ‘im. So I took him home with me. And now, he’s like my best friend! So please, don’t hurt him! That poor pig doesn’t deserve to die!”

“Okay, we won’t hurt him. But still! You can’t let him just walk around by himself! It’s not alright for him to be seen by other demons!” Charlie interjects.

“He just doesn’t like bein’ lonely! Cooped up in that room all day without anyone. Y’ can’t tell me you wouldn’t feel bad about leavin’ him like that, would ya?” he says, crossing his upper pair of arms.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be bringing in animals here in the first place! Ever think about that?!” Vaggie aggressively remarks.

“ _No shit_ I thought about that! That’s why I’ve been keepin’ him a secret till now. Figured you broads would have a cow about it and kick him out.”

“That’s absolutely what we’re gonna do! This is a hotel, not a goddamn petting zoo! We can’t just have it strolling around!”

“If you’re gonna kick Fat Nuggets out, then I’m outta here, too! Ain’t no way I’m staying here by myself.”

Charlie frantically stands up. “N-No, you can’t leave! You’re our best chance of getting people in here!”

“Then tell the tight-ass over there that she ain’t getting rid of Fat Nuggets!”

“Don’t act like you call the shots around here! Charlie and I are gonna make the final call about that pig, and if we say it goes, then _it goes._ Got it?”

Before Angel can retort, you all hear someone shout, “Would you all shut the fuck up already?!” The slightly slurred voice belongs to Husk, looking more irate than before. He’s massaging his head with one hand and still holding the bottle with the other. “I can hardly think with all of your screamin’.” After looking at his options to sit, he pointedly avoids the one next to Angel Dust and chooses the seat that is on Niffty’s right.

“Hey, Husk. Are you feeling any better?” You ask him.

“Like I said, kid. I’m fan-fucking-tastic. Just needed some of my medicine here,” He says as he shakes the bottles his hand was clutching.

Looking at that bottle, you couldn’t help but feel worried about his insistence to drink his pain away. Although he tried to play it off as a joke, he probably knew it wasn’t helping him. But he kept coming back to his alcohol, then he’d never get better. Alcohol has that power- to take over a person’s world. It makes people do terrible things: things that could lead to someone getting hurt.

You knew _exactly_ how dangerous alcohol can be.

You didn’t want to see him hurt himself. So, you speak up.

“Um, Husk?”

“Hm?”

“Maybe you should put the bottle down for now. It sounds like you’ve had a lot to drink already…”

“Ha! You kiddin’ me? Can’t stop taking my meds till I’m feelin’ better,” he responds while he smirks at his joke, bringing the bottle back to his lips.

You give him a disgruntled look. “I’m serious! You were already pretty sick before, and I bet the alcohol isn’t gonna help your stomach. In fact, it might be the reason you got sick in the first place.”

Based on his expression, it was clear he did _not_ like what you said, his protruding eyebrows raising in anger. “Oh, so you’re a doctor now, are you? You’re gonna start telling me what you think is best and expect me to listen to your ‘sage advice’?”

“N-no, I’m just saying drinking too much is bad for you. It’s only hurting your body, and I don’t want to see you in pain.”

“Maybe Archie has a point, Husk,” Niffty backs you up. “I mean, you have been drinking that since you got here. You might want to switch to water for now.”

“Lemme guess, you’re gonna give me the same spiel every other person says. ‘You need to stop drinking! You’ll kill yourself if you don’t stop!’ Guess what, asshole? I already died! So what’s it matter now?!”

“Jesus, Huskie, lay off a bit, will ya?” Angel says in your defense. “They just wanna make sure yer not gonna drink yerself to death. If ya wanna get snappy with someone, my door’s always ope-“

“Shut the fuck up you overgrown _shitstain_ ,” Husk snaps at Angel. Before Angel can make a witty response, Husk addresses you again. “And who are you to tell me when I’ve had too much, huh?!”

“I-I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just-“

“I don’t need you’re fuckin’ advice! I’ve had people all my life trying to feed me that bullshit! And now you’re gonna sit there and try to ‘fix’ me?! Get the fuck over yourself, asshole!”

You feel yourself starting to shake. You do your best not to show it, but you can’t help showing how his words are affecting you. Vaggie seems to notice and immediately jumps in to help.

“Husk, back off!” Vaggie intervenes. “Archer just wants you to get better. And they’re right! Just look at yourself and tell me how that bottle is helping.”

“Yeah, Husk, that’s enough,” Charlie joins in. “You can’t be so aggressive with people here-“

“Shut up! I ain’t through yet!” he interrupts. “I don’t need your fuckin’ pity, you piece of shit! After the shit I’ve been through, _this_ is how I learned to live with it all. So don’t you _dare_ sit there actin’ like you’re the bigger person just because I like my liquor! You don’t have any right to judge how I live my life! So unless you’ve got something else to say, keep your ‘help’ to yourself, you self-righteous prick!

‘Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry,’ you told yourself. But it was too late. Tears began streaming down your cheeks, unable to hold back anymore.

“…I…I’m sorry…”

The arguing continues with Angel and Vaggie defending you against Husk while Niffty and Charlie try to deescalate things, but you don’t focus on what is being said at this point. Your mind focuses only on what Husk had just said to you.

It looked like helping these demons might be… a bit more difficult than you’d anticipated. You knew not every demon would be willing to change, but if they were going to be as hostile as Husk was…

…

…Was it right for you to do this?

“That’s enough.”

To try and force people to change, even if they’re content with their life as is. Is that really okay? Should you try to help them if they can find their own way to enjoy the afterlife? Because right now, it seems like your “help” is doing more harm than good.

“I said _that’s enough!_ ”

Now, everyone was arguing, all because you just _had_ to open your mouth. Because you tried to help, everyone started turning against each other.

‘Why did I think I could help anyone?’ you ask yourself. ‘All I’m doing is causing more problems for these people.’ You could feel more and more tears come as you realize the truth.

The harsh truth that had shaken you to your core.

“ _I can’t save anyon-“_

**“I said ENOUGH!”**

A loud pound on the table accompanies the voice. Everyone freezes, looking around to see who caused that. And to your and everyone else’s surprise, it was Charlie who was the cause.

Charlie looked… different from before, to say the least. Her eyes, once full of cheer, changed into a deep amber red with larger pupils. The straightened set of teeth were now trenchant, becoming more predatory. Sprouting from her skull, two elongated horns had appeared, a mix of red and white coloring them. This new side of Charlie reminded you of something- a fact that you had nearly forgotten about because of her character.

At the end of the day, Charlie was still a demon. One that could kill you without a hassle if she wanted to.

_Charlie was just as dangerous as the rest._

“We are _not_ going to have any more arguments! We’re going to enjoy a nice meal together, and we are _all_ going to get along! Do you all understand?!”

Everyone silently nods, not wanting to spark up another outburst.

Taking a deep breath, her demonic appearance fades back to normal. “Good. Now we are going to keep this peace for the rest of the day. _No. More. Fighting._ ”

She sits back down, confident her message was clear. It felt as if the dust had settled from the storm, but the damage it left behind was still plain as day. The silence that falls is especially awkward, the tension very much present. Vaggie is still sending death glares to Angel, and Angel was looking anywhere but towards Vaggie. You're too scared to look around, especially at Husk, so you keep your eyes down onto the table. Niffty’s concerned eye looks around at everyone, worried that another outburst might happen.

The person that finally breaks the silence is the only one not yet at the table: Alastor.

“It’s time for dinner!” he announces excitedly. He makes his way to the table, carrying a large pot in his hands. The table has mixed reactions to his entrance. Vaggie was now focusing her glares onto him while Niffty was shaking with excitement to eat. You, however, still kept your eyes down to avoid contact with anyone else.

Alastor walks around the table, taking the spoon and generously pours his dish into everyone’s bowls. When he gets to you, he says, “I do so hope you enjoy it, Marksman. Some say it’s to _die_ for.”

You can’t help the chills that roll down your spine when he said that. The extra emphasis on the “die” didn’t help your already-large concern about eating. The only thing that helped you relax was the sound of someone else chuckling.

“Alastor, you use that joke every time someone tries your jambalaya.” Niffty playfully whines.

“Apologies, darling. It’s merely a force of habit!” he responds.

“Thank you for cooking, Alastor. This smells great!” Charlie compliments.

“Why, of course, my dear! I always enjoy preparing this dish, especially for new faces such as our friend here,” he says as he reaches his hand to pinch your cheek. Before he can touch you, however, Vaggie grabs Alastor’s wrist and pulls it away from you.

“ _Hands. Off.”_

The whole room goes quiet once again, a stare down occurring between the two demons. Some of the others appear concerned, including yourself, but Vaggie’s face is unchanged. Alastor’s unwavering smile shows some amount of excitement at being challenged, which worries you to no end. Before you say something to prevent anything from happening, Alastor pulls his arm away from Vaggie.

“Very well. Now! Let’s eat, shall we?” he moves to take his seat at the head of the table, sitting between Niffty and Vaggie.

Before you try some of the jambalaya, you look around to see the others’ reactions. You first notice the odd behavior coming from Vaggie. Vaggie appeared to be hesitant to eat it, afraid that Alastor may have tampered with the food in some way.

You were also cautious of the bowl in front of you. Alastor was in the kitchen the whole time by himself. There’s no telling what he could’ve done to your food when no one was looking.

But you look up to see Niffty happily eating away at the jambalaya. Her eye is wide open with satisfaction from the dish.

Seeing her and the others eat away at their bowls, you pick up your spoon and slowly bring it to your mouth. You blow on it a bit to cool it off before eating a small bit of what you picked up.

You let the jambalaya sit in your mouth for a bit, afraid to swallow it…

You see Alastor looking at you expectantly…

Finally, you swallow it…

…You hated to admit it, but it really was delicious.

You couldn’t help but make a shocked expression at how much you enjoyed it.

Giving Vaggie a reassuring nod, she finally tries the meal for herself. Her face also seems surprised by how good the dish was, and she continues to cautiously eat away at her bowl.

“Well,” Alastor starts, “what do you think of the food, Marksman?”

“It’s… it’s really good, Alastor. Thanks.”

“I’m so glad you like the meal, darling! It’s actually a recipe I inherited from my mother. She always put lots of love into making it. So, I took it upon myself to work hard to master the dish!” His smile grew wider as he talked about his cooking. But his smile appeared different this time than it normally was. It looked to be less strained and more natural. It seems that you liking his food and talking about his mom genuinely made him happy.

“You did a great job. My compliments to the chef,” you jokingly say with a little smile.

He focuses his eyes onto you again, almost reaching over to touch you before remembering Vaggie would stop him. “ _There’s_ that pretty smile. That’s the only compliment I need!”

You nod back to him, going back to eating the jambalaya. You eat away at the bowl for a little until you realize the room is still quiet. Looking up, you see everyone focused only on their food. A few times, some look around to make occasional glances at others, but only for brief moments. Husk looks up from his bowl, making eye contact with you. If looks could kill, you would’ve been bleeding out from the way he was looking at you. He lets out a quiet, but still threatening growl, making you focus your attention back to your bowl.

Dinner is mostly silent since the tension from earlier had yet to dissipate, and it seemed like everyone wanted to avoid conversing with each other now.

“So, Marksman.”

Well, everyone except Alastor, that is.

“Yes, Alastor?” you answer.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering about you. Could you, perhaps, enlighten me on the issue?”

“Uh, sure. What’d you want to know?” you ask, trying to keep your composure and not show how terrified you were he might’ve figured you out.

“You seem like such a kind, compassionate soul. It astounds me that a person like yourself would commit such horrendous atrocities while you were alive. Care to tell us what exactly you did to find your way into Hell?”

You freeze, processing what he just asked you. There was no fooling him, it seems. He knew very well how out of place you were down here. Hopefully, he just didn’t figure out the “why” yet.

“Alastor! You can’t just ask someone that. That’s super personal!” Charlie interjects.

“Come now, dear. I’m simply making small talk with our newest guest. They don’t have a problem with it, right?” Alastor looks at you expectantly.

You feel a hand being placed on your own. “You don’t have to answer that,” Vaggie tells you. “Don’t worry about him. He just doesn’t understand what boundaries are.”

You were tempted to remain silent and continue eating. But you figure that if you didn’t tell him anything now, he wouldn’t stop pestering you about it in the future, and possibly in a much less friendly manner. Hopefully, if you give him a little information, it’ll satisfy his curiosity for now.

“… I don’t want to go into details. But, if there was one thing that put me in Hell, it’d be…” What would be enough of an explanation for now?

One word came to mind.

“Choices.”

“Hm?” That caught Alastor off guard, but his face remained unchanged.

“I made some choices- some that I knew would mean I would go to Hell.”

Charlie places a comforting arm on your shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. We all make choices we regret. But with this hotel-“

“That’s the thing,” you interrupt. “I don’t regret them. I’m happy with the choices I made. I knew they meant I wouldn’t be in Heaven, but… they were the right choices to make.”

Alastor holds his head in one of his hands, signaling that he was intrigued by your explanation. “Interesting. Would you elaborate on what exactly those choices were?”

You look away from him, bringing your attention back to your meal. “Sorry, but that’s all I’ll say about it.” Alastor has yet to take his eyes off of you, seeming to consider how to respond to you. Would he push harder for more details? Or maybe he’d out you to everyone right now? The anticipation of his next words was making you tense, uncertain of the impact what he might say.

“Thank you for your answer, dear! I found it to be highly informative!”

“…It was?” You release a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Fortunately, he was satisfied with you for the time being, and he returns to eating the jambalaya.

“Oh, come on! That didn’t tell us shit!” Angel whines. “How are you gonna blue-ball us with that kind of answer?! You gotta give us more than just ‘choices’! What kinda vague shit is that?!”

“Like I said, that’s all I’m gonna say about it.”

“Ugh, fine. Keep yer secrets. Yer no fun, y’know that?” he complains.

“Oh, like _you’re_ one to talk about keeping secrets.,” Vaggie interjects, glaring at him again. “Don’t think we forgot about that pig in your room.”

That seemed to shut him up. Angel doesn’t respond and decides to go back to eating. Vaggie gives you a reassuring nod with a self-satisfied grin. You chuckle at her satisfaction and continue consuming the jambalaya.

Dinner proceeds to be mostly quiet, but some of the tension seems to have been eased. There aren’t as many scornful looks across the table anymore (well, you’re not sure about Husk since you’ve yet to make eye contact with him),

With some of the tension gone, Charlie speaks up. “So, I think some of us should go into town tomorrow and see if we can start getting people to try out the hotel! What do you guys think?”

Angel gives her a questioning look. “You sure ya wanna do that, toots? Just sayin’ that plan didn’t go too well today, did it?” Charlie looks to him, a bit of sadness bringing down her smile. Vaggie sends another glare towards him, which gets him to offer a hand of support to Charlie. She shakes her head, looking back up with her bright smile.

“… I know today was a _bit_ of a complete disaster,” Charlie admits, “but tomorrow’s a new day, right?! It’ll be a fresh start for all of us. And maybe with our newest staff members,” she says, pointing to Alastor, Niffty, Husk, and you, “we’ll all be able to bring people in. So, who’s in?!”

Everyone looks around, waiting for someone to speak up, until finally, Angel says, “Well I’m sold. I’m goin’ with ya into town.”

“No!” Vaggie contests. “There is _no_ way we’re letting you go back out there- not after you went on that turf war!”

“I told ya already, I was just helping out a friend! That’s a ‘redeeming quality’, don’t ya think?” he asks with air quotes.

“Vaggie, maybe he can help us out there! He seems to have a way with people, right Archer?” she jokes as she nudges your shoulder.

You push her away, chuckling a bit before answering. “Well, I guess it depends. Do you really think you can get people to come to the hotel?” you ask Angel.

“Believe me, sweetheart, making people _come_ is my specialty,” he says at you with a smirk and a wink. The joke makes you blush profusely, and you hide your face from him as he eats up your reaction.

“Ugh, really?! Can’t we just enjoy a meal without you bringing up sex?!” Vaggie asks in an annoyed tone.

He ignores her complaint. “Plus, I’ll do anything t’ get outta this shithole fer a bit.”

“Alright, you can join me tomorrow,” Charlie cheers, “Does anyone else want to come?”

“I would love to join you!” Alastor voices. “Going out to bring in clientele sounds like a wonderful idea.

“Great! What about you Vaggie? Want to com-“

A sudden shattering sound interrupts the conversation.

Everyone startles, their heads looking towards the source of the noise.

“What the hell was that?!” Vaggie asks, getting up from the table and hurrying out of the room. The rest of you followed closely behind.

Leaving the dining room, everyone sees what the noise was: one of the windows in the lobby had been broken, leaving pieces of glass scattered around the carpet. And in the pile of glass was a rather large rock with something attached to it. Vaggie ignores the mess on the floor and darts to the shattered window, searching for whoever smashed it.

“Goddamnit,” she curses, “those fuckers must’ve run.”

“No shit they took off. They ain’t gonna stay and wait to get the shit kicked outta them,” Angel comments.

You walk over to the mess, carefully avoiding the shards of glass to pick up the rock. Turning it over, you find a piece of paper tied to it.

“Looks like whoever did it wanted to give us a message.”

“Well, what does it say?” Charlie asks you.

You untie the paper and place the rock back on the ground. Unfolding the paper, you realize the note hadn’t been written in regular ink. Rather, _blood_ was used to write the message. You find that pretty disturbing, but the others don’t seem too phased by that.

“Really? Blood? Could’ve had _some_ subtlety if they were gonna make threats,” Vaggie comments sarcastically.

Ignoring her words, you read the paper.

**_Princess,_ **

**_You’ll ruin all of Hell with your Hotel._ **

**_Shut it down, or we’ll do it for you._ **

**_No one will be redeemed._ **

**_Demons will stay in Hell for all eternity._ **

**_Don’t try and break the cycle._ **

**_Or you’ll be next._ **

…

After reading it aloud, the room was once again silent. No one quite knew how to deal with the threatening letter. No one wanted to speak up, afraid of making the situation worse. Instead of saying anything, you vaguely try to search for information you’d never know.

‘Who could’ve written it? What were they planning to do? Was it even a real threat?’ Questions flooded your mind as you try to process what you just read.

Someone clearly didn't want this hotel to exist. Some demons were actively against the idea of redemption. But that wasn’t the greatest concern you had with the note.

What was more important was… a direct threat to Charlie’s life.

“…I think we should call it here for the night.” Charlie breaks the silence. “L-let’s all get a good night’s rest, and we’ll talk more about it tomorrow, alright?”

“Charlie…” Vaggie moves closer to hold her.

“A splendid idea, my dear!” Alastor cheerfully agrees, startling Vaggie. “Sleep can work wonders for you, especially after such a long, tiring day. May you all enjoy a night of peaceful slumber!”

He makes his way up the stairs, once again leaving after a moment of chaos. Everyone else, however, doesn’t say anything as they all head upstairs. The only two that remained in the lobby were Vaggie and Charlie, presumably to talk about what happened. You couldn’t help but overhear a faint sniffle come from Charlie. You consider trying to talk to her, but you decide against it so the two can have their time alone. You turn back and ascend the stairs.

You finally get back to your room. Lying down on your bed, you take out the flower you got with Niffty and set it down onto your nightstand. Trying to take your mind off of the events from today, you turn on the TV, browsing through whatever was on. Even with the variety of channels, none of them appealed to you in the slightest. The majority of what was on was random advertisements. They mostly consisted of things you figured would be advertised in Hell, such as various brands of drugs and alcohols and different sex workers. All of them were unappealing to you, and, honestly, made you feel a little grossed out just by watching.

One that caught your interest was for this company called I.M.P. You definitely didn’t like what they were selling, however. Based on what that red demon said, they offered to go back to the living world and kill someone! And worse of all, they proudly boast that they’ll kill kids for no cost! Truly, there were disgusting demons in Hell, ones that would be tough to save, and this commercial is proof of that…

~~…But, as much as you hated to admit it, you thought the jingle was catchy …~~

Quickly, you push that thought out of your head and clicked to the next channel.

You keep flipping channels until you wind up back on that news station Charlie was on. The two news anchors were on once again, in the middle of one of their segments. With nothing better on to watch, you figured you could learn something about Hell if you watched the latest news.

“…and with the recent exterminations finally finished, more and more fights are happening to claim as much turf as possible,” the one with a gas mask on says.

“Thank you, Tom!” the woman says with a forced grin. “In other related news, demons are still on the hunt for any sign of the fallen angel.”

Your eyes start to widen, and you feel yourself getting paler.

Tom speaks next. “That’s right, Katie! According to eyewitness report, rumors about an angel appearing in Hell have sparked interest from many citizens in Pentagram City. However, these witnesses weren’t able to find anything around the area they believe the angel fell.”

“Many have speculated just why an angel would come to Hell just after the Cleanse. Could it be a rogue Cleanser who doesn’t believe one day to kill is enough? Or perhaps it’s a rejected angel that was banished from Heaven? Whatever the case, the hunt for the angel is on!”

“And it’s not just every normal demon on the hunt,” Tom continues. “Some overlords, such as Vox, Valentino, and even Lucifer, himself, have offered to handsomely reward anyone that may bring this angel in alive. Everyone seems to want their hands on it, don’t they?”

Katie remarks, “Why wouldn’t they? With the angel’s blood, imagine the power a demon can possess. And with the turf wars happening all over, that blood would be very handy for whoever can acquire it! So be on the lookout for any signs of that ‘holy’ sack of _shi-._ ”

You turn the TV off, unable to stop your shaking. You couldn’t believe that after _one day_ in Hell, demons already knew that you were here. What were you gonna do?

“Just stay calm,” you say out loud to yourself. “Don’t panic. You’re okay.”

For now, you were safe. They didn’t know where you were. You had people to look after you. It’s okay. You’re okay…

You’re okay…

_You’re okay…_

“ _You’re okay,_ ” you tell yourself. “They won’t find you. You’re okay…”

You continue to whisper that to yourself as you try to force yourself to get some rest.

_You’re okay…_

_You’re… okay…_

_…You’re…_

_…_

**_…You’re… going to die…_ **

_…_

…Sleep didn’t come easy that night.

* * *

The next morning, you awaken to someone knocking at your door.

“Who is it?” you ask, rubbing your eyes to help you wake up.

“It’s me, Charlie,” she answers. “Can you come down to the lobby when you’re ready? We’re all gonna decide on what we’re doing today.”

You yawn as you sit up to stretch. “All right, I’ll be down in a bit.”

“Great! See you soon!” she says in her bright tone.

Getting out of bed, you do your daily routine to get ready. You prepare the shower, letting the water get warmer as you instinctively go to the closet to pick an outfit.

Upon opening the closet, however, you realize that you don’t have anything else to wear. You would have to stick with the clothes you wore yesterday. You were less than pleased by not having the option to change. Other than being uncomfortable wearing the same outfit for multiple days without cleaning them, there was one more significant reason you were averse to this.

These were the clothes you wore when you died.

You never wanted to have to wear these again. But it was either these or the white robes you got from Heaven, and it seemed easier to blend in with this ensemble.

Stained with blood: reminders of your painful death. Cuts in the cloths made from shattered glass. It didn’t seem out of place for someone to wear in Hell.

With no other options of attire, you stick with the same set. Hopefully, you’d be able to get something else to wear in the future. But you didn’t let yourself worry about clothes anymore.

Before taking off your pants, you find that something had been left in your pocket. Something you had forgotten was placed in there this whole time.

Your halo.

Pulling it out, you see it still has that bright shine it had when you first received it. A peaceful reminder of the life you gave up. Even though it was a nice life, for now, you didn’t regret leaving it behind.

But you could reminisce for a few minutes.

You put it on, looking at yourself in the mirror of the bathroom. Though the rest of your body wasn’t very clean, seeing yourself with the halo made you feel pure again. The gentle glow emanating from it cast down onto you, lighting your body in white. A stark contrast to the red you so commonly saw nowadays. It was a pleasant reminder of the place you used to call home. For that brief moment, Heaven felt close to you again.

But the moment only lasted for a bit. Then, you remember exactly what you were now.

The Angel living in Hell...

You take off the halo, deciding what to do with it now. It might be risky carrying the halo with you. Sure, you’d know where it always was, but if someone noticed it, it’d be a dead giveaway for you. You figure you should leave it behind in your room. You choose to hide your halo under your bed. You figure it would probably be safe anywhere since no one else would come in here too often, but it felt safer hiding it away somewhere.

After placing the halo under the bed, you take off the remaining pieces of clothing and head to the shower, reveling in the warm sensation of the water hitting you. Once you feel you’re completely clean, you dry off with a towel and proceed to hesitantly put on your old clothes again. Afterward, you leave your room, locking the door behind you and assuring that your halo was safe.

You make your way into the lobby, seeing a few of the others also gathered downstairs. Vaggie seems to be lost in thought as she stands near the broken window. Charlie stands next to her, trying to make conversation. Niffty, unsurprisingly, is cleaning around the window, closely examining the floor to make sure every shard of glass was picked up.

“Good morning, guys,” you say, alerting them of your presence.

They all turn to you, Vaggie giving a soft smile and a wave while Charlie gives you a bright smile. But... you notice something off about her. You can see bags under her eyes, showing the lack of sleep she must’ve had last night. You don’t blame her. Who could get a good rest after receiving a threat like that? You can’t help but feel comcerned for her and move to talk to her, but you’re interrupted by Niffty excitedly running towards you. “Good morning, Archie! Did you sleep well? I hope so. I barely could sleep at all last night. Yesterday was just so crazy, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, crazy’s one way to describe it,” you agree. You go to check in with Charlie, but she’s already continuing her conversation with Vaggie. Thinking it’d be rude to interrupt them, you leave them alone and, instead, move to take a seat on the couch. As you wait around for the rest of the crew to join you, your mind wanders to last night. Specifically, you recall what the news anchors were discussing.

You were… admittedly terrified of being hunted.

The threat of someone finding you was dangerously real. You felt like prey hiding in the lion’s den. And now that demons were actively looking for you…

It didn’t give you much confidence in your odds of surviving.

They were bound to check the hotel eventually, right? Or what if one of the clients that come in finds out you’re the angel? Would they give up everything about redemption for great power in Hell?

Your mind scatters with many different outcomes- most of which don’t have a happy ending for you.

“Archie?” Niffty asks, startling you as she sits beside you, “Is everything alright?”

“Hm? Y-Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… something I saw on TV last night. It just upset me a little, that’s all.”

“Of course, it would upset you, Marksman!” Alastor says, popping in behind the two of you which causes you to jump. “Those picture boxes produce nothing but unfiltered garbage! No class at all, I tell you! If you want true entertainment, I would highly suggest purchasing a radio for yourself!”

“Obviously, you would like the radio better, _Radio Demon_ ,” Niffty jokes.

He wraps his arms around your and Niffty’s shoulders. “Indeed, I would, Niffty. Perhaps then, I would finally get to see a lovely smile from you, dear.” He moves his hand to your lips, using two fingers to stretch your mouth upwards. You flinch back, but his arm prevents you from moving away. “After all, you’re never fully dressed without a smile!”

Keeping the smile on so he wouldn’t touch you again, you respond, “Thanks for all the advice, Alastor. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Wonderful! Glad to be of help to you! Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he walks away from you two and heads out the open entranceway. Once he’s gone, you finally drop the fake smile he put on you.

Making sure he’s out of earshot, you ask Niffty, “Does him just appearing out of nowhere not scare you?”

“Eh, he does it all the time. You get used to it. But it can be a bit much sometimes. One time, I was cleaning up a restroom, and he teleported right behind me. It scared me so much, I dropped a bottle of bleach I was holding, and it got all over my outfit! So, I was pretty angry at him after that happened. But he made up for it by buying me a new set that looked just like the old one! Well, I don’t know if he actually _bought_ or if he just made the store owner give it to him, but either way, I forgave him after that!”

“Uh, yeah, sounds like it gets old after a while…” you tell her.

Not too long after, Angel makes his way downstairs, heading over to join you two on the couch.

“Well, good morning, Hot Shot,” Angel greets. “Yer lookin’ as good as ever.”

“O-Oh, um… thanks…” you blush. “You, uh, look nice, too?”

“Aww, yer too kind to me, sweetheart. But I know I look nice. I _always do,_ ” he says with a satisfied smirk as he adjusts his large tufts of hair on his chest.

You couldn’t help but wonder what those tufts were like. They had the appearance of a woman’s breasts, but they looked to be made up of nothing but hair. Your mind came up with a few questions that Angel would probably answer without hesitation. He seemed to be immensely proud of them since he enjoyed touching them and wearing clothes that would show them off.

“What’s wrong? Can’t look away from ‘em?” Angel asks, breaking you out of your thoughts. You didn’t even know you were staring at his chest, but the realization made you unbelievably embarrassed. “If you want, I’ll let ya have a squeeze. And just cuz I like ya so much, I won’t even charge ya. Whaddya say, Hot Shot?” You look away from him, unable to meet his eyes. You hide your face from him, not wanting him to enjoy how red your face was any longer. He cackles away at your reaction, so much so that he doesn’t hear someone walking up from behind where he’s seated.

Vaggie stands behind Angel, coughing to get his attention. He turns, startled at her appearance. Without a greeting, she tells him, “The pig can stay.”

He sighs out of relief. “Oh, well that’s good to hear. Glad to see you do have a heart in ya, after a-“

“But!” she interrupts. “If that pig is out of your room again, we’ll happily serve it to our guests for dinner. Understood?”

“G-got it,” he returns. With a nod, she heads back to her position by the window with Charlie. When she’s gone, Angel mutters under his breath. “Tight-ass.”

Almost everyone was here now. The only one that hasn’t come yet was…

…Aaaand there he was, walking down the stairs.

Husk.

Your mind flashes back to yesterday.

Everything he said came back to you. How self-righteous you were in trying to help him. How forceful you were when giving advice. How judgmental you came off and telling yourself you did it to look out for him.

He… was right. You shouldn’t have said what you did.

You should tell him you’re sorry.

You stand up to give your apologies to Husk. But Angel’s arm stops you. “Don’t talk to him right now.”

You’re shocked he’s the one stopping you, but you try to explain. “I shouldn’t have been so pushy with him. I need to fess up to it now rather than later. I owe him that much, don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t,” he argues. “He’s bein’ the asshole here, not you. He just can’t stand to hear someone call him out on his drinkin’. But you did the right thing. Don’t blame yerself just cuz he doesn’t wanna face the music.”

You consider his words. You didn’t want to remember what happened, but looking back on the situation, before Husk became aggressive, were you really ever pushy about getting him to stop? Maybe Angel was right. Maybe _you_ were right from the start. Everything you told Husk _was_ out of genuine concern, not because you thought you were better than him. You only did what you thought was right. No one could fault you for that.

You decide you would stand by what you said.

With a sigh, you sit back down. “Okay, I’ll hold off from talking to him. Thanks, Angel.”

He smiles, only this one isn’t as sultry as the one he normally has. It was more casual and less sensual than what you’re used to. It felt genuine. “Don’t mention it.” He releases his hold on your arm and relaxes back into his spot.

A few minutes later, once Charlie finishes her talk with Vaggie, she gathers everyone’s attention, standing in the center of the room. “So, now that everyone’s here, let’s address the elephant in the room. For now, we’re gonna treat the note as an empty threat.”

“Hon, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Vaggie asks with concern. “We don’t know what they could be up to. Is it really okay to just ignore it?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I won’t let whoever wrote it ruin this plan I’ve been working on for years. Besides, if they wanted to do something to me or the hotel, then why the note? They wouldn’t have given me a warning about it if they were planning some kind of attack. And why wouldn’t they just take the opportunity to do it yesterday? It just doesn’t feel like it’s real,” she justifies.

Unsurely, Vaggie gives in. “Alright. I’ll trust you on this.”

“Thanks, Vag. Now, let’s talk about the plan for today. I’m not saying I believe the note, but just in case something happens, I need people to stay here and watch the hotel. It’ll probably be fine, but better safe than sorry.” Even though she says she doesn’t believe the threat, it still seemed like she knew the possibility of it being real was something to be worried about. 

‘Poor Charlie,’ you think. You can tell she’s worried the note is real. She’s scared, possibly afraid for her life. But she’s putting on a brave face for everyone, showing how strong a leader she was.

You… _respect_ that quite a bit.

“We also need people to go to town and get people interested in this place,” she continues. “and while we’re out, we’ll probably get some more stuff from the stores for our grand opening. So, who wants to do what?”

“Like I said last night, I’m headin’ out to town. I can’t stand bein’ stuck here all day!” Angel answers first. Even though Vaggie was against the idea last night, she didn’t raise any objections today.

She was, however, the next to answer. “I need to stay here. I’m gonna make sure nothing happens to the hotel.

“What about you, Husk?” Charlie addresses him.

“Don’t feel like goin’ out today. I’ll just stay and ‘keep watch’ for you,” he says, leaning his head against his palm.

“I wanna stay too!” Niffty gives her input. This place needs fixing up. I can help fix the window and the door now!

Only one other person hasn’t answered, so Charlie asks him next. “Alastor, did you still want to go to town with me and Angel?”

“Of course, dear! I’m sure this place will be perfectly fine without me! Besides, I can easily bring some of those _loathsome sinners_ into your fine establishment.”

“Okay, so that’s 3 to go to town and 3 to stay here,” she recaps. With three on each side, that only left one person to choose: you.

“What do you want to do, Archer?”

Your two options are: go with Charlie, Angel, and Alastor to help with advertising, or stay with Vaggie, Niffty, and Husk and make sure the hotel is safe.

Leaving the hotel might help you get a better scope of the types of demons you could be saving. And bringing in more clients would get you closer to your goal. Plus, you were really wanting to see what the city looked like and maybe look into a new wardrobe, so getting out for a bit sounded nice. But going out might be risky. You think back to that news report last night. Your appearance in Hell is no secret anymore. You could get caught if you were out there, and with only Charlie, Angel, and Alastor to help you, who knows what might happen?

Of course, there was the option to stay here and watch the place. This place might need protection based on what that note from yesterday said. Maybe staying here and helping to guard the place would be better. But some things are holding you back. First, you don’t think you’re in good standings with Husk right now. It might make things worse to force him to work with you. Also, it might be a risk to stay. Would you even be able to help defend the place? You weren’t exactly skilled with your weapon, and you might have another misfire. A much more _fatal_ misfire if you weren’t careful. Heck, that threat might’ve just been fake to cause some paranoia. There might not be an attack at all. Plus, even if there was, Vaggie, Niffty, and Husk could probably handle themselves just fine, right?

So, the question is:

**What do you choose?**

**Explorative (Go to Pentagram City with Charlie, Angel, and Alastor)**

**Protective (Stay at the Hazbin Hotel with Vaggie, Niffty, and Husk)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Make Your Choice](https://www.strawpoll.me/20273228)
> 
> Voting ends on June 19th.
> 
> Well this chapter took a while, didn't it? XD
> 
> Sorry for the delay, finals took up a big part of my free time, but now that summer's here and school is out, hopefully I'll get more chances to write.
> 
> Anyways, so dinner went from 0 to 100 pretty quick, huh?
> 
> Apologies to all the Husk lovers, but someone's gotta be antagonizing, and who better for that than the drunk cat demon? Hopefully, it's not too late to make amends... 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I always appreciate your continued support with this story, and it helps keep me motivated to push past all those moments of writer's block! I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next chapter!


	7. Let's Get to Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the new day here, you separate into two groups to help improve the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You chose to go to town with Charlie, Angel, and Alastor.

Although making sure the hotel was safe was important, it didn’t seem necessary for four people to guard the place right now. Surely Vaggie, Niffty, and Husk could protect the place without your help, right? What was more important was getting people to come work towards redemption.

The more you think about it, the more compelling exploring the town sounded. Yes, you were afraid of someone finding you out, but you couldn’t just stay in the hotel forever. You’re here to help, not hide. Charlie’s dream depended on getting demons to the hotel and change their ways for the better. If you want to make change happen, you have to take the steps to reach that change.

And those steps would be in Pentagram City.

“Alright, I’ll go with you guys,” is your answer to Charlie.

She was happy to hear that if her smile was any indication. “Sounds good! Is everyone ready?”

“YES!” Angel shouts, making you and Charlie startle. “Fuckin’ finally! I’m tired of waitin’ around. Can we get movin’ now?!”

“For once, I actually agree with our effeminate friend here,” Alastor comments. “It’s about time we take our leave, don’t you think?”

“You’re right, let’s get going,” Charlie responds. She turns back towards the three others, giving them a wave. “We’ll see you guys soon. Keep this place safe while we’re gone.”

She prepares to head out, but before Charlie can leave, Vaggie walks up to her and hugs her. She buries her face into Charlie’s shoulder, holding onto her dear friend tightly. “Be careful out there, alright?”

Charlie pushes herself away slightly to look Vaggie in her eyes. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Nothing’s gonna happen to us.”

Vaggie gives her a half-hearted smile, seemingly unconvinced by her reassurance. Regardless, she lets go and approaches you next. You find yourself wrapped in her arms, giving you the same strength she had given to Charlie. She’s yet to say anything, so you fill in the silence. “See you soon,” you tell her.

But before you can break away, Vaggie brings her lips close to your ear. “Please,” she whispers. “Keep her safe.” It didn’t seem as though anyone else heard. You didn’t want to expose the hidden worry she only showed to you, so instead of verbally responding, you squeeze her shoulder as a form of reassurance, telling her that you’d watch out for Charlie. With that, she breaks away, giving you one last smile before walking towards the office.

Just moments later, you see a blur of pink speed towards you. You stumble a bit as you suddenly feel a pair of arms around your stomach. Looking down, you see Niffty staring back up at you. “Bye Archie! See you soon!”

You can’t help but chuckle at the display of affection, and you pat her on her head in return. “See you later, Niffty. Don’t have too much fun without me,” you quip.

“I won’t. It isn’t gonna be as much fun without you here…” she dolefully speaks as she turns her head away.

“Hey, chin up,” you console, lifting her head back up to meet your eyes, “we won’t be gone for long, alright? Just do what you can to help here, and we’ll do the same on our end. Sound good?”

With a returning smile and a not, she says, “Alright! I’ll do my best here! So you have to do your best, too!”

Giving her a final pat on her back, she lets go of you and scurries off to the dining room you gathered in yesterday.

The last person remaining at the hotel is the disgruntled Husk. You see him sitting behind the bar as he normally does. Although he doesn’t seem happy to see you (though you’ve never seen him be happy), he doesn’t seem as miffed as the previous day. Maybe he’s moved past that incident?

Well, even if he hasn’t, it’d be rude to not acknowledge him, at least. “See you later, Husk.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t die, or whatever,” is his only response as he spitefully chugs his bottle down. He steps out of his bar area and walks to join Niffty in the dining room.

Once he’s gone, you think back to Vaggie’s request. If you wanted to protect Charlie, it’d be a good idea to bring your bow with you, right? After all, walking out into Hell would be dangerous without something to defend yourself with. Better safe than sorry.

“Hang on, I need to grab my stuff really quick,” you say, about to walk towards the stairs.

“‘Stuff’? What are you bringing?” Charlie asks.

“Just my bow and arrows. I figured I should take them just in case.”

Before you can make it to the staircase, however, Charlie grabs ahold of your wrist. “W-wait, are you sure you should bring those?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Um… well, how do I put this…?” Her eyes dart around, hesitant to look at you. But you think you know what she’s talking about.

“…You don’t trust me with a weapon. Is that it?”

“I-it’s not that I don’t trust you! It’s just… you don’t really seem to know how to use it. I mean, there was that whole thing with Vaggie, and when we met, you aimed your bow at me. I think leaving it here would be best for now.”

She made a decent point. It’s not like you’ve proven yourself skilled enough to use that bow properly. Your past instances with it haven’t been ideal, to say the least. In fact, both of those times, the greatest danger to the group seemed to be you with your weapon.

And… what if that were to be the case again outside of the hotel...?

“…Alright. I won’t bring it.”

With a sigh of relief, Charlie takes your hand. “It’ll be alright. We’re not gonna need it anyways. Now come on, Angel and Alastor already got bored of waiting for us.”

Looking behind her, you notice both Alastor and Angel have already exited, leaving the two of you behind. “Oh yeah, guess I was a bit slow with the goodbyes, huh?” you say with a brief laugh. “Let’s get out of here.”

The two of you walk out of the doorway, keeping your hands intertwined with each other. As you step outside, you give one final glance at the building. But, when you look back, you notice something wrong with it. There was something different about the exterior, one major part that puzzled you.

It was the name.

…’Hazbin Hotel’?

Wait, you could’ve sworn you saw it say something else when you were falling from Heaven. Maybe you were too panicked to properly read the sign, so that might explain the lapse in memory. But even still, it doesn’t seem like a name Charlie would pick for this place. You might as well hear her explain the name.

“Hey Charlie, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I’m not judging or anything, but why’d you name this place the ‘Hazbin Hotel’?” you ask. “I’m not sure it’s the best idea to insult the guests that come here by calling them has-beens.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? It clearly says-“she stops as she looks at the sign. She does a double-take, eyes widening as she rereads the neon lights atop the building. “What? No, that’s supposed to say “Happy Hotel”! Who messed with the sign?!”

‘That was it!’ you recall. That’s right, the Happy Hotel. But that does beg the question: who would want to do something like change the name? And why? What benefit does it serve anyone? It would probably just be to anger Charlie, right? So maybe…

“You think it was whoever wrote that note?” you suggest.

“I doubt it. If they smashed in a window with a rock, they wouldn’t take the time to just change a few letters on a sign,” she notes. Her point is valid. If it were the same people from yesterday’s vandalism, they’d be more likely to just destroy the sign, if do anything to it at all. It’s extremely high up, after all. That seems like a lot of work for not enough pay off.

As you thought about it, you notice that Charlie doesn’t seem ready to let it go just yet. In fact, it looks like she’s angrier about this than the window incident. You figure it’s up to you to calm her down. “Look, we can’t do anything about it right now. Vaggie and the others are probably gonna find out about it soon enough. We can trust them to take care of it. And if not, we’ll do it when we come back, okay?”

She doesn’t respond immediately, taking a moment to mellow out. With a begrudging sigh, she says, “Fine, we’ll fix it later.” She walks off on her own, agitation clear from her posture. You figure it’s best to just give her some space to cool down for a moment. For the time being, you return to enjoying the view.

From where you stand, you can see the destination from where you were: Pentagram City- the City of Sinners. The massive collection of buildings you saw when you first fell was still as lively as ever. And although it appeared that several structures were decimated, presumably from the turf wars Charlie told you about, many others stood tall, showing the incredible power each building held. In its own way, the city had an alluring presence to it, piquing your interest of the people that made resided in the community.

“It’s quite impressive, don’t you think?” Alastor says, suddenly appearing behind you.

“Gah!” You instinctively jump out of shock and quickly turn to face him. “Could you _please_ stop popping out of nowhere like that?!”

He chuckles at your reaction. “My sincerest apologies, my good friend. I merely wanted to ask you a question.”

“Uh-huh, _sure_ you’re sorry,” you sarcastically remark. “But you’re right. It’s a pretty impressive city. What’s it like out there?”

“It really is a lovely city!” he reminisces. “Streets littered with failures! Wicked, vile beasts that would love to tear each other apart! Oh, the havoc! Oh, the chaos! Oh, the primal, raw instincts of sinners! Truly, not a place for one like yourself.”

“What do you mean by that?” you inquire.

He places his hands on your shoulders, looking down on you from behind. “Such a pure, kind individual like you would never be able to survive in such a world. Those creatures would have a field day with someone like you! Fortunately, you have powerful friends by your side to keep you safe.”

“ ’Powerful friends’?” you repeat. “Does… does that include you?” Why would he want to keep you alive? Since he’s a murderer, you thought he’d enjoy watching you be killed. Heck, after the way you treated him since you first arrive, you thought _he_ might be the one to want to kill you.

“But of course.”

“So that means… you want to keep me safe? I don’t get it. Why?”

“Hm? What don’t you understand?”

You inhale, preparing for your explanation. “All this time, I’ve been nothing but rude to you. Not that I don’t think you deserve it, but still, I know I haven’t been the nicest person,” you recall. “I threatened to shoot you, and I gave you a half-hearted apology. I said I didn’t trust you, and I even thought you might have tried to poison the food yesterday. I know you noticed my doubts about dinner. Yet, this whole time, you’ve been calling me a friend. Why?”

He ponders his response for a moment. “Darling, if I had a dime for every instance of someone wanting me dead, I could buy out the seven circles from Lucifer,” he jokes. He places one hand on your chin, tilting your head up to get a better look at you. “Believe it or not, our first meeting was one of the more pleasant ones I’ve had since my death. You’re truly unlike anyone I’ve met in all of my afterlife. There’s something oh so… _unique_ about you, but I can’t place my finger on it just yet.” You tense up slightly at his curiosity about you. “But no matter. People like you are the ones I would be remised if I let die. People I consider friends.”

This was a _weird_ side of Alastor to see. It was hard for you to believe this was genuine, but you look up at his face. That relaxed, casual smile was sat there, nothing forced or unnatural about it. Did he actually want to be friends? A part of you feels like this is just a façade he’s made up to get on your good side, but… another part of you…

Could you… could you actually consider being friends with a serial killer?!

‘No! Don’t be too hasty,’ you remind yourself. ‘It could still all be an act. It’s not safe to blindly listen to a maniac like this.”

That was true. No matter how charming and charismatic he presented himself to be, he still chose to take innocent lives. Trusting someone like that so rashly like this is dangerous.

Still, despite your personal feelings about Alastor, he seemed to be looking out for you here. Even though it came out sort of threateningly, but maybe it was his own “special” way of friendship. Maybe he is genuinely concerned for you?

‘It’s too soon to say for sure,’ you reason. ‘I’ll just let him think I trust him, and later, I’ll see if he’s being genuine.’

“Well, thanks for having my back, Alastor. I’ll be careful.”

His smile is more relaxed than usual, similar to how it was when he talked about his cooking. “What are friends for? Now, come dear,” he says as he takes your hand, “our chariot awaits.”

“H-Hey!” you yell. “H-hang on!”

Without responding, he begins walking to the side of the hotel. But you don’t focus on where he’s taking you. You’re instead looking at his hand that’s holding onto you. Forcefully, you try to pry your hand out of his grasp, but he strengthens his grip to prevent you from escaping.

“What’s the matter, darling?” He asks. “Is merely being around a well-known celebrity such as myself too much for you to _hand_ le?!” He accentuates the pun by squeezing his hand around yours. He lets out a boisterous laugh which is accompanied by the sound of other people laughing.

You panic at the sudden voices, looking around for who was laughing. After seeing no one else, however, you realize Alastor had something to do with making that noise. Now that you think about it sounds like a laugh track from some dumb sitcom.

“Would you let go of me already?! I can walk by myself just fine.”

Per your request, he lets go. “Apologies, darling. I assumed you had no issues with hand-holding considering you walked out with our dear princess hand-in-hand,” he smirks as he points out your contradiction.

“W-well, that’s true but that’s because- wait, how’d you know about that?” you ask. “You’d already left after Charlie and I did, so how would you know about us leaving together?”

His smile grows as he answers. “Oh, my dear. I can see _plenty_ of things without needing to be around. It’s one of the many talents I possess,” he proudly tells you.

You remain unimpressed. “Great, so on top of being an insane serial killer, you’re also a stalker. Anything else you want to add to the list?”

“Don’t forget a cannibal,” he nonchalantly adds.

 _That_ gets a rise out of you. “D-don’t just say that like it’s nothing! You ate other human beings?!”

His boisterous laugh fills the air. “Don’t worry, darling. Though I may have thought you looked appetizing before I met my end, I’ve since switched to an enjoyment of venison now!”

“T-that’s not the issue here!” you stutter out as you both continue walking. “Why would you ever eat another person?! That’s disgusting! That’s… that’s… huh?” Before you can continue chastising Alastor, something catches your eye that derails your train of thought.

You see Charlie and Angel talking to each other, Charlie noticeably calmer from the earlier discovery. They stand next to a long vehicle, presumably your way of getting to the city. Obviously, the easiest way to get to the city would be by some sort of car, and naturally, as the princess of Hell, Charlie would drive around in a limousine everywhere she went. But this limousine was unlike any other you’ve seen. With a pearl white color and magenta-tinted windows, it already seemed like an odd design to you. However, what took it one step further into the realm of disturbing was the dagger-like teeth on its front along with the headlights which resembled eyes, giving an appearance of a monstrous beast.

“Uh, Charlie,” you start. “Is this… your limo?”

“Yeah! Isn’t it great? I know it looks a bit scary, but I promise, it won’t bite!” she jokes.

Even with her happy tone, you can feel your fears taking over. You start getting dizzy, unable to focus on your surroundings. This limo may have been the start of this fear-induced attack, but it isn’t the design you’re concerned about.

It’s about having to ride in a car, at all.

You feel your breathing become heavier. Your body starts shaking as the feeling of dread fills you. You nearly collapse to the ground, but something heavy catches your fall. Most likely, the limo, you assume. But you don’t focus on that. You’re forced to focus on the thoughts in your head.

‘You can’t get in there! What if it happens again?!’ you think. ‘Do you remember how much it hurt?! How painful it was the first time?! Don’t let yourself feel that again! Just go back inside! You’ll be safe! You’ll be-’

You snap back to Charlie shouting your name as she shakes you “Are you okay?!”

“Huh?” You’re still a bit dazed, but you’re able to steady yourself again. “Yeah, I’m… I’m alright. Just lost in thought for a second.”

“Yeah, I could tell. What were you thinking about that made you panic so much?”

“… Oh, you know, just thinking about life…” you answer lamely. Although, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

“That’s quite ironic for someone who’s dead, don’t you think?” Alastor comments, laughing at his own joke. The laugh track from earlier comes back.

“Haha, yeah… I guess so,” you respond. “But…I’m fine, really. Let’s just get in.”

“You sure ‘bout that, Hot Shot? Yer not lookin’ too hot, if I’m bein’ honest,” Angel voices his concern.

You couldn’t let that fear hold you back. You were gonna get in a car sooner or later anyway, no point in running from it now. “No, no. I’m sure. I made my choice to come with you guys, and I’m sticking to it,” you affirm.

“…Okay, if you’re sure,” Charlie doesn’t deny you, entering the limo and speaking to the driver. “Pentagram City, please. And take it easy on the roads. One of my friends isn’t feeling too well.”

“You got it, lady,” the driver responds.

Alastor is next to climb in, although it’s a bit awkward for him because of his height. He’s forced to sit slightly slouched in one of the chairs. “This is a bit of a tight squeeze for me, princess.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, Alastor. My parents and I aren’t exactly the tallest demons in the seven circles. We didn’t expect to have many larger demons joining us in our limos.”

Angel, however, wastes no time hopping inside despite his size, laying on one of the seats to stretch out properly. “I dunno what you’re talkin’ about, Al. I got plenty of room right here. _Maybe even enough fer the two of us if ya want._ ”

“Haha! No! I’m more than comfortable in my current position, thank you.”

“Oh, c’mon. Just lie down and stretch a lil’. Feels a lot better on yer back, I promise.”

“Although I appreciate the suggestion, I will politely decline.”

As the two carry on with their banter, you finally join them in the limousine, closing the door behind you. You take a seat on one of the benches, taking deep breaths as you attempt to calm yourself.

The limo takes off, headed for Pentagram City. Charlie stares outside of the window, enjoying the scenery move along with her. Angel doesn’t stop trying to get Alastor to loosen up, no matter how much he rejects the offer.

All the while, you sit there, doing your best to keep your breathing under control.

“It’s fine. You’re fine,” you whisper, making sure that no one else can hear you. “Just stay calm. This isn’t like last time. You’ll be fine.”

But the breathing control will only last for a little bit. You need to find a way to distract yourself. ‘Think. Just get your mind away from that,’ you console yourself. ‘Think about what you’re gonna do when you get to the city.’

Yeah, that’s a good idea. Just think about Charlie’s plan to…

…to…

What _was_ Charlie’s plan?

Yes, it was trying to get more people in, but she never brought up the details about it. What would you do when you got to town? Who would you speak to? She’s left you in the dark about all of it.

You might as well ask her now.

“So, Charlie,” you start. “what’s the game plan here?”

“H-huh?”

Her confusion makes you confused. “You haven’t said anything about _how_ you wanted to get demons coming to the hotel. What’d you have in mind?”

“Uh… well… uh, about that…” she shies away.

“Is something wrong, dear?” Alastor inquires.

“Well, it’s just… I… I wasn’t able to come up with anything,” she reveals.

“W-what?!” you ask with surprise.

“I know, I know! It’s just… I wanted to come up with a plan last night, but after we got that note, I wasn’t able to think clearly. I was up for hours thinking of some way to bring people in, but every time I was trying to think, I was just reminded of that threat…”

“So, when y’said you didn’t believe that note earlier, that was a lie?” Angel asks.

“…Yeah, it was. I can’t stop thinking that someone’s out to get me. Or worse, what if they come after you guys, too?!” Tears well up in her eyes. “They might try to hurt the employees at the hotel too! What if people get hurt because they wanted to help me?!” The streams in her eyes fall down her face, unable to be held back at this point. “I… I can’t let that happen! I don’t want the people I care about to be hurt because of my dream!” Her hands grab at her hair, tightly tugging as she shows her biggest fear in front of you all. “I… I… I CAN’T LET PEOPLE BE HURT BECAUSE OF ME!”

You rush to sit next to her, holding her close to you as you offer your own form of comfort. She hides her face into your shoulder as she sobs, dropping tears on your shirt. But that doesn’t matter to you. All that was important right now was helping your friend. “Charlie… I’m so sorr-“

“To be so distraught all because of a simple piece of paper. That’s unbecoming of you, my dear,” Alastor interrupts you.

“A-Alastor?” she asks with a sniffle as she lifts her head.

“But remember. As an official worker at the hotel, it’s my duty to ensure the safety of the establishment. And the safety of my fellow staff. If anyone wishes to harm you or anyone else in that hotel, they’ll have to deal with me first and foremost.” Static emanates louder from him as he gives his… comfort? You figure it’s an appropriate way for Alastor to support someone.

“Listen, I know I haven’t been the ‘model saint’ you hoped I’d be,” Angel starts, “but I ain’t about to let ya deal with this on yer own. If the threat’s real, then we’ll find out who sent it. N’ I’ll gladly bust anyone’s skull that tries anythin’ funny.”

Now’s your chance to offer words of encouragement. “Charlie, you don’t need to shoulder all of the burden. It’s our hotel, after all. We have to look out for each other. And there’s no way we’re gonna let the cowards that made that threat have their way. We can keep everyone safe. Just don’t hide behind that wall anymore, okay?”

She lifts her head fully now, her earlier sobbing now over. “Y…You guys…” she wipes the tears from her eyes, that smile you cherished so much returning to her face. “Thank you… Thank you so much!” she joyfully praises as she goes to hug both Angel and Alastor. Alastor doesn’t look too comfortable with the sudden contact, stiffening up and awkwardly patting Charlie on the back.

“…It was nothing, my dear.”

Angel is much more receptive to the touch, gladly returning it without hesitation.

“Don’ sweat it, toots. Now, how’s about we think of a way to help yer hotel, eh?” Angel suggests.

“You’re right,” Charlie agrees. “Now, let’s get to work!” As she says that, you all feel the limo coming to a stop.

“Here we are,” the driver announces.

“Thank you. So, what can we do to bring clients in?” Charlie asks.

“I could always force some sinners to join,” Alastor suggests. “Many still owe me favors. I’m sure they would happily agree to stay.”

“No,” Charlie adamantly denies. “We need people to _want_ to come, not be forced into coming. What else?”

“I could offer my ‘services’ fer them t’ come,” Angel states. “After all, a lil’ sex ain’t gonna ruin anyone’s redemption.”

“Definitely not! We’re here to discourage sin. That would only contribute to the problem,” Charlie scolds.

As they bounced some ideas back and forth, you think to yourself about what could be done to help.

‘What would make people want to come?’ you wonder. What would be a good reason for people to come? Obviously, wanting to be redeemed isn’t enough of an incentive since demons laughed at the idea. So how could you influence them to want to be redeemed?

While you think of ideas, you feel sudden wetness on your skin. You instinctively reach to see what that feeling was, only to realize it was Charlie’s tears from earlier. They hadn’t fully dissipated, some trailing down your clothes and into the open parts of your clothes with tears.

Looking down at your outfit, you examine just how ragged they were. Both your shirt and your pants had numerous tears and holes, exposing several parts of your skin. And it was all because of…

_…that day._

You stop yourself. “Don’t think about that now,” you mutter. You wanted to avoid having another episode and making everyone else worry again. Fortunately, it looked as though no one noticed your troubles as they were still discussing business with the hotel. It seemed like not much progress had been made since you last paid attention to them. You wish you could focus enough to join them in that conversation.

But still, it was hard not to think about anything else right now with your attire as a reminder of what happened. ‘I need to get some new clothes. I’m gonna keep remembering if I don’t change them.’

There had to be somewhere around here that would have new outfits, right? You were in the middle of Pentagram City. Surely, there’s a clothing store nearby in a huge city like this. Maybe, instead of just sitting in this limo, they’d be willing to take you to one of them. Even if they seemed focused, you weren’t gonna be any help at this rate.

You figure it was at least worth asking.

“Um,” you interrupt their talk, “is there any chance I can look for some new clothes while we brainstorm? I kind of want to change out of these.”

“Oh, sure! We can check out one of the shops around here.” Charlie happily accepts.

You can see Angel seeming giddy at her answer. “Ooo, we’re goin’ on a shopping trip?! I fuckin’ knew ditchin’ that dump was the right idea!”

“I know just the place!” Alastor speaks up. “Come, they’ll surely have some apparel that will satisfy you!”

Even if you were still hesitant to fully trust Alastor, you couldn’t find a reason to argue here. If anyone knew these streets and what stores lie within them, you’d think it’d be Alastor. For now, you’ll believe him. “Alright, lead the way.”

The four of you step out of the limousine, Alastor stretching after being hunched over for so long. As you get out, you take in the surrounding city you’re encased in. Every building is as lively as it appeared from a distance. Various neon signs displaying sins such as “SEX” and “DRUGS” were shining on many of the buildings. Graffiti was marked on a ton of the walls, whether it be demonic symbols or just various slurs. And of course, demons littered the streets, all in some unique form that showed their vicious intentions. Some made eye contact with you, causing you to quickly look away.

You can’t help but start to get nervous about this town. Alastor wasn’t lying when he said dangerous “creatures” roamed the city. You couldn’t help but feel more anxious, instinctively bringing yourself closer to Alastor without realizing it. You look up at him see his pleased grin, unsure of why he looks so happy.

“W-What? Do I have something on my face or something?”

He chuckles again. “It’s nothing, dear. Now, it’s time to get going!” he declares, heading down the sidewalk as the rest of you follow.

Walking to the shop, you pass by a number of different demons of all shapes and sizes. The majority of them seem to be unique types of anthropomorphic animals, from horses to sharks, and even some insectoid-like people. Regardless of their form, all looked to be intimidating to you, partly due to your shorter stature than most of them. It seemed like in their demon forms, most tend to grow, which helped to give them more menacing appearances.

However, even if you felt intimidated by them, you couldn’t help but notice that… they all seemed intimidated of you?

Well, maybe not of _you_ specifically. But whenever a random demon even so much as looked at your group, the vicious scowls they had would turn into looks of fear. Even as you walked down the street, demons were quick to turn the other way.

But what had them so scared? Looking back to the demons you’ve passed, they all stare back, ensuring that the four of you were gone before proceeding with their routes. It unnerved you to have so many eyes trained on you at once. It didn’t sit right in your stomach.

“It feels like everyone is staring at us, don’t you think?”

“ ’Course they are,” Angel answers. “We got the princess, the Radio Demon, the human, and the porn star together. No shit people are gonna be oglin’ at us.”

“Well, it’s just weird. They seem like they’re scared of us. But why would they be scared?”

“Hmm…” Alastor gives a thoughtful hum, “Who in our merry little party could these sinners be so terrified of? It truly boggles the mind.”

‘Oh, you realize. ‘Of course, everyone’s scared of the Radio Demon.’

But in retrospect, you realize how odd your group is. The princess of Hell, a well-known radio host/serial killer, a human-looking “demon”, and-

“Welcome back to Vox Talks!”

An unknown voice distracts you, and what it said had you second-guessing if you heard it right.

You find yourself in front of an electronics store with loads of televisions on display in the glass. Each TV is tuned into the same channel, the same host present on each screen. This demon was… certainly different from any other you’ve seen. Instead of resembling any sort of animal, this demon took the shape of a television, his head formed into a rectangular shape. His face was embedded into a blue screen, giving him a futuristic and high-tech appearance.

“Today, we have a _very_ special guest to talk to. You know him, you love him, everyone’s favorite rat, give it up for Valentino!”

The show he was on seemed to be some sort of talk show since he was interviewing another demon. The interviewee was a… moth demon, you think? ‘But then why did the other man call him a rat?’ you wonder. With dark blue skin and antennae sprouted out of his head, he did resemble some sort of bug. His attire was rather gaudy: a red coat lined with white fur that had hearts painted on the collar, yellow-rimmed, heart-shaped glasses, and an overly tall, red top hat to complete the ensemble. Like Angel, one of his sharp teeth was replaced with a golden one, displaying his wealth for all to see. His face, currently, looked less than pleased at the introduction he received. Probably because of the ‘rat’ comment.

And even though you weren’t a fan of his clothes, you couldn’t help but be intrigued by both of the demons.

“Woah, they look kind of cool,” you note. “I’m guessing they’re pretty famous, right?”

“Believe me, dear, neither one of those demons deserves your admiration,” Alastor comments.

“Why? Who exactly are they?”

He points to the demon with the television head. “That would be one of the Overlords of Hell. A pompous, pretentious television producer named Vox,” he tells you with a disdained tone.

It’s unlike Alastor to sound so displeased with someone. “Sounds like you’re not a big fan of him, Alastor.”

“Oh, what an understatement that is!” he responds. “The man has no class! No standards! He’s not afraid to air the most unfiltered garbage for anyone to watch!” He seems more irked just by the mere mention of Vox.

Hold on, didn’t he say something like this earlier? Alastor obviously hated TV, and it seems like Vox had a decent part in making that hatred. To hopefully ease him up, you joke. “You just don’t like him because he prefers TV over the radio, don’t you?”

He laughs at that, wiping a fake tear from his eye before saying, “I won’t pretend that isn’t part of what’s wrong with him. That unctuous individual loves to rub in my unfamiliarity with modern technology. He never turns down the opportunity to remind me of our difference in age.”

“Oh, sounds like that would get old pretty quick.”

“It does,” he answers blandly. You figure Alastor doesn’t want to talk about this Vox person anymore, so you change the subject.

“And what about him?” you ask, pointing to the moth demon.

“That there is Valentino. Another Overlord that dominates the pornographic film industry. The owner of the most popular pornographic studio, in fact.”

“H-he runs a porn studio?” you ask. It makes sense to you that porn would be a lucrative business in Hell. But you didn’t expect one of the Overlords, the superior beings with supposedly unfathomable power, to own one of the studios.

“Yes indeed. Unfortunately, he’s not all that much better than Vox. Just as conceited and egotistical as Vox, and, somehow, even less dignified. I only _slightly_ prefer him over that picture box because he doesn’t constantly bombard me with reminders of my age.”

You let Alastor ramble on about his dislike for the Overlords as you focus on the interview. “So, Val, what can you tell us about your upcoming film?” Vox asks the moth.

“I’m so glad you asked! It’s something no demon has ever seen the likes of. The intensity, the passion, the pure _filth_ never captured on film! One of my best yet. And who better to star in this than the one and only Angel Dust?”

“Angel?!” you repeat. “Wait, then that means… Angel, you’re a porn star?!”

“No, sweetheart, I’m a priest,” he sarcastically replies with a snicker. “Fuck yeah, I’m a porn star! The hell did ya expect?!”

“I-I don’t know! I know you make dirty jokes a lot, but how was I supposed to guess that meant you acted in porn?”

Before he can answer, Vox speaks back up. “Interesting. Because according to our princess, Angel is supposedly trying to be redeemed in that hotel of hers. Care to comment on that?”

He lets out a low chuckle. “Angel? Being redeemed? _Please._ Firstly, redemption isn’t possible in the first place. When you get to Hell, you stay. Secondly, if redemption was possible, Angel Dust would be the last demon to ever make it to Heaven.”

You notice Angel pointedly looking away from the TVs now, the previous smirk replaced with a deep frown.

“Oh? Why do you say that?” Vox inquires.

“Have you seen him? Porn, prostitution, turf wars. Does that sound like someone with even a chance at redemption? He’s just staying at that hotel to have somewhere to crash. And if he were smart, he’d get out of there before _someone_ makes him.”

Angel let out a “tch” at Valentino’s remark. You and Charlie look to him, concerned about the way Valentino spoke about him. Even Alastor seemed curious about Angel’s reaction. Curious, but not concerned.

“You know he’s wrong, Angel,” Charlie comforts. “Redemption is possible, and you have just a good a chance as-“

“Let’s just-!” he interrupts. “-let’s just get to that store already. We wasted enough time here.”

“…Alright…”

You leave the electronics store before the interview is finished, continuing to head to the clothing store Alastor mentioned. The rest of the walk was in rather awkward silence. No one knew what to say, but there were plenty of concerned glances from you and Charlie on Angel. Alastor, not particularly caring, continued casually walking with a pleasant whistle, enjoying the looks of fear from various demons as they passed by.

Eventually, Alastor pauses in front of a building. “Here we are!” he announces jovially. Looking at the exterior of the building, you see a giant sign hanging above that displayed the name of the establishment:

**Valuable, Eloquent, Lovely, Very Expensive Threads Store.**

“That’s uh… quite the name for a store. At least they’re honest about the prices.”

“No need to fret, my friend. The staff here can be fairly reasonable when wavering the price for clients such as I.”

You can’t find a reason not to believe him here. There’s not much benefit to lying about something as to what shop to go into, right? It was… _probably_ safe to listen to him. “Well, it’s not like I know anywhere better to look, so I’ll take your word for it. Let’s go.”

As you open the door, the loud jingle of the bell rings through the store. You see the countless racks of clothing spread across, rows and rows of various articles waiting to be purchased. But in the large shop, the silence of the store unnerved you. It didn’t sound like there was anyone else here. Not even any employees.

The only semblance of a person were the images strewn across the walls. Every image is of the same person: a demon that looked similar to a doll positioned in various poses. The woman had hair colored various shades of pink and purple tied up into two sections. She wore a dress of white, black, and pink with hearts decorating the bottom of the dress. Her face was painted with makeup, crimson eyeliner matching some of her hair, and long white streaks that stretch from her eyes down to her mouth.

“Wow, they must love this woman here,” you comment. But soon, you focus back on the emptiness of the building.

You stepped further in, going to check to see if maybe any employees just didn’t notice you. At the counter, however, no one was there. Confused, you walk up to the register to make sure the clerk wasn’t there. Instead of an employee, you see a piece of paper next to a little silver bell that sat on the counter.

You read the note aloud. “ 'Only ring the bell when you’re ready to check out. If you need help looking for something, find it on your own.’ Huh, not exactly great customer service here.”

“They’re probably just bein’ safe. Ya never know what demon might wanna try somethin’.” Angel chimes in.

“It’s fine. Let’s just find you something to wear,” Charlie says as she beckons you to follow her. “I’ll pay for whatever you get, so don’t worry about the price.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah. You don’t have any money on you, do you?”

“Fair point,” you concede. “Thanks, Charlie. I’ll try not to make you spend too much.”

She laughs as she accompanies you, browsing various isles to find something to wear. You see Angel and Alastor go off on their own, so you look at the racks while Charlie follows behind.

“Hey, so now that we’re alone,” Charlie speaks, “there’s something I need to ask.” Her tone is more serious than normal, a bit of worry laced in her words.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“I noticed you and Alastor talking before we left, and I need to know. And please, be honest with me,” her worry becomes more apparent as she speaks. “Did he try to make a deal with you?”

“A deal? No, he didn’t,” you answer. “He was just being his normal, creepy self. Why, what’s wrong with taking a deal?”

She lets out a sigh of relief. “Okay good, just making sure. Making a deal with an Overlord can be dangerous. They always find a way to get a loophole in the terms, and they can easily screw you over. Alastor’s a cunning man. I don’t doubt he could find something to wheel and deal with you.”

“Well, if he ever does ask for a deal, I’ll reject it.” 

“Glad to hear. Just tell me if he causes you too much trouble, alright?”

“Actually, he’s been pretty nice to me, honestly,” you admit. “He’s always calling me his ‘friend’, and there are times that I want to believe him. But it’s hard to trust a killer like him, you know?”

“Yeah, I know how you feel. To be honest, when he first showed up, I slammed the door on his face… Twice…” she recalls. “But he’s the reason Niffty and Husk joined our staff. He helped remodel some of the run-down parts of the hotel. And he says he’s doing it all for his own entertainment, but… I guess a part of me wants to believe that he believes in redemption, too.”

“Maybe he does. Maybe he’s just afraid of showing that he actually cares about something. Or maybe he was being honest about how he feels. He’s so unreadable, it’s hard to figure out anything from him.”

“Well, the good news is that the staff is warming up to him. Except for Vaggie, and I’m guessing you.”

“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about him,” you confess. “I don’t hate him as much as when we met in the lobby, and we had a decent talk earlier, but I’m still debating if I can call him a friend.”

“That’s fair. But I think you should try to spend some time with him if you can. He’s not a bad friend to have, especially since you’re gonna be working together for a while.”

Even though you were indifferent about Alastor, she made a good point. If he was being genuine earlier, then getting closer to him wouldn’t be a bad idea. “I guess you’re right. I’ll spend time with him later on if I get a chance. Deal?” you turn from the racks to face her and stretch out a hand for her to take.

She laughs at the reference, accepting your hand to shake it. “Deal.” You turn back to the rack, still looking through each piece of clothing. You find yourself looking at jeans, and in the row behind you, there are a plethora of button-up shirts. But nothing stands out to you.

“See anything good?” Charlie asks.

“Well, everything kind of looks the same in here,” you comment. You skim through the rack, seeing if anything looked different from the rest. Black and red. Black and red. Black and red. Ooo, red and black! Such variety! “Lots of reds and blacks. I guess Angel was right: there’s not that much variety in color, is there?” you say aloud. Nor is there much variety in the maker, you find out. Each tag has the same name written on them. “Velvet. Must be a pretty popular brand.”

“Oh, that’s not a brand,” Charlie corrects. “Velvet’s one of the Overlords here. She’s the person in all of the pictures all over.”

“Wonder if that means she owns the place? What’s she like?”

“She’s the typical trend-setting popular girl. She’s, uh, a bit eccentric at times, but she’s nice overall. I’d say out of all of the Overlords, I like her the most.”

“Huh, then hopefully, I’ll get to meet her one day. But surely, she could make another color trendy, couldn’t she?” you joke with as you pull out yet another black shirt.

“Oh, definitely. She could make anything trendy. Whatever she likes, other demons will end up liking it, too.”

Heh, you think she could make the hotel trendy? That’d get people coming in,” you joke.

“You know, she probably could. Or would’ve if I didn’t mess up that interview. I doubt anything I’m associated with would ever get ‘mainstream’ because of how embarrassing I was.”

“Charlie, it’s fine. We can come back from that fiasco. Just give it a bit of time, and everyone’s gonna forget that interview,” you promise.

She seems doubtful of that but still responds, “I hope so. I just don’t want to be remembered by that.”

“Well then, we’ll just have to give them something else to remember you by.” Charlie appreciates the kind words, giving a smile at your sympathy. Taking the conversation back, you address a point previously made. “But to go back a bit, from what all of you have said, it sounds like every Overlord is pretty popular.”

“They sure are. Whether it be from admiration or fear, lots of demons follow what the Overlords say.”

“Lots of demons listen to the Overlords, huh? It sounds like they have a lot of influence in Hell,” you say, only to think in your own words.

‘Wait,’ you think. ‘Influence?’

If the Overlords can influence demons, how much could they influence their lives? They have control over fashion, pleasure, entertainment. If they can control all of those…

…Maybe they could get demons to come to the hotel!

“That’s it!” you shout, startling Charlie.

“W-what’s ‘it’?”

“What if we asked one of the Overlords for their help?! You know, kind of like a sponsorship. If we can get one of them to support the hotel, they can get clients to come in! Since they can be so influential, we’ll get demons to join us in no time!”

“…Hmm…” she ponders your idea. “I don’t know. It might take a lot of convincing to get one of them to support us. We’d basically be asking them to give up some of their workers so they can go to Heaven.”

“Well, maybe if they don’t want to give up their own people, maybe they can give us funding? That way we can help bring people in ourselves still with backing from them. What do you think?”

“Uhh, I mean, it might work,” she considers. “I just don’t know if they’ll be so willing to give us clients _and_ money. Is there anything else they might consider giving?”

“Anything else, huh?” What else could they give, other than their influence, clients, or money? What else does the hotel desperately need?

Then you remember _it._

“What about the note from yesterday?”

“Y-You mean the threat? Why bring that up now?”

“Charlie, I know you’re afraid of the threat being real. I am, too. But think about it. If we were to get one of the Overlords on our side, there’s no way any demon would want to mess with the place! You and the hotel would be safer with powerful people by our side.”

“I… I mean, that’s true, but…” she doesn’t argue with that. Maybe she doesn’t want to admit her fear, but she knows you’re right about getting protection.

You push forward. “If we can get just one of them to agree, we’d be set. Think about it: with their support, the hotel will be flooded with people that came because they heard it from an Overlord. We can change so many lives; we just need one of them to back us up. We have to at least try.”

She contemplates the idea, considering the plan in its entirety. Eventually, she looks back at you. “You know what? You’re right!” she agrees. “This is our chance to get some good publicity! I’m sure at least one of the Overlords would want to help us. We can finally get the clients we need!”

“Great, so we have a basic plan, but we need to work out some other things,” you say. “For one, we need to decide which Overlord to ask. Who were you thinking of asking?”

“Hmm… Well, our best bet would be to ask the 3V’s: Valentino, Velvet, and Vox. They’re good friends with each other, so if we can convince one of them, then maybe they’ll all want to help. I think we can do this!”

“That’s the spirit!” you cheer on. “Okay, we know what we’re doing. After we check out, we’ll tell Angel and Alastor the plan. I’m gonna keep looking around for something to wear, you go find those two.”

“I’m on it!” she responds. Before she walks off in search of them, she moves to you, wrapping you in a firm hug. “I’m so glad you came with us! Without you, I wouldn’t know what to do. But whenever I’m around you, I feel like I can move forward without being afraid. I’m… I’m really lucky to have you with me.” Her face heats up at her confession, but you don’t see it from your position in the hug.

You return the hug, returning her gratitude with, “It’s all for the hotel. _Our_ hotel.”

She lets go, scurrying out of the aisle to hunt down the other two in this massive store. You can’t help but chuckle at her giddiness for your idea.

You thought it was… ~~cute~~ inspiring.

That passion she first showed overtaking the fear of that threat gives you hope, too. This could work. All you needed was one of the Overlord’s help, and the hotel would be packed with clients! Then, they could be saved, you would prove that demons can earn their way into Heaven, and the Cleanses would finally stop! You couldn’t wait to finally reach that goal.

At this point, you didn’t care what color the clothes were. You were ready to get the plan started. Not wanting to waste too much time, you pick a few pairs of black slacks and some red button-ups. Neither were too pricey (despite the name of the store suggesting they would be), so you figure these would suffice.

You look for Charlie to tell her you’re ready to check out. Instead, however, you run into Angel examining a few articles of clothing, most likely for himself.

“Angel, hey! We finally have an ide-“ you’re interrupted as he yanks the clothes you chose out of your hands.

“Lemme see what you got.” He separates the arrangement you have with all six of his arms. His eyes widen in disbelief at your choices. “Are you kiddin’ me?! Why the fuck did you get the exact same thing?!”

“It’s not my fault everything here looks the same! Plus, the clothes don’t matter now. We came up with a plan. Charlie’s waiting for us to check out, so let’s get going!”

“No. We’re not goin’ yet.” He drops all of the clothes on the ground and reaches back into the rack.  
“Yer not gonna walk outta here with that shit. Try this on for size.” He pulls out an outfit and holds it out in front of you.

“Nah, too boring,” he decides, placing it back on the rack.

“Angel, please. We don’t have time for this. Let me just buy the ones I picked, and we can look for more clothes another day.”

He’s quick to deny you. “Nu-uh. I’ll let ya keep _one_ of those you picked out, but we’re gonna find you somethin’ else, too. I ain’t takin’ ‘no’ fer an answer.”

“Fine. Let’s just make it quick, okay? We need to leave soon.”

“Y’ got it, sweetheart,” he agrees.

It turns out the two of you have very different definitions of ‘quick’. What you’d hope would take less than 5 minutes turned into over half an hour of walking down different isles, Angel seeing how clothes looked on you, and you carrying a pile of various items that were starting to get hard to carry.”

“A-Angel, we have enough here! Let’s go already!”

“Not yet. Just a few more rows, then we’re done, okay?”

He doesn’t wait for your acknowledgment as he continues to examine the racks, smile wide as he hums a little tune.

“You’re having fun with this?” you ask.

“‘Course I am. I always have fun wit’ helpin’ out the… how to say this nicely?... ‘Fashionably blind’,” he smirks.

“Oh, haha,” you sarcastically laugh. “But you’re right. I guess you would know fashion better than me,” you admit, referring to the outfit he’s wearing right now. “Where’d you get those clothes? I’m assuming not from here since we didn’t see anything like those.”

“Oh, these? They were a gift from… my boss.”

“You mean Valentino? That was nice of him! It sounds like he really cares about you if he spends so much on you.”

“Y-yeah, he uh… he knows how to treat a guy right…”

He’s gone quiet. Why would Angel Dust, a man known for being so bold and brash with his words, suddenly feel so down? Was it because of talking about his boss? But, the way Angel described him, Valentino sounded like a good guy. So, why wouldn’t he want to talk about him?

“Are you alright? D-did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s not you. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just find you somethin’ good to wear.”

Wanting to give your support, you offer, “Angel, you can talk to me if something’s wrong. You’ve been nothing but good to me since the start. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help in return?”

“…” he doesn’t respond, instead, focusing on looking for something for you to wear. It’s clear he’s not comfortable talking about whatever’s troubling him, so you decide it’s best not to be too pushy about it. You continue to follow him around as he searches for things to try on you, adding an occasional outfit to the ever-growing pile. Even though you felt kind of bad for having him spend so much money for you, he seemed to be happier as he was finding things for you. So, you let him have his fun.

As he looks quietly looks through the racks, he pulls out something you. It was a black leather jacket, similar to one a biker might wear. The edges of the jacket, however, are lined with red velvet, and the cuffs of the sleeves had spikes sewn on them. You had to admit, it looked pretty cool.

“Whaddya think of this one?” he asks you, breaking the silence he held for so long.

It wasn’t something you normally wore. But Angel looked a bit happy about what he found you. Might as well make him happier. After all, what’s one extra jacket gonna hurt?

“I like it. I think I could pull it off.”

He smiles. “Yeah? Then it’s yours.”

He gives you the jacket, placing it on the pile of clothes he already stacked in your arms. Before you do, you catch a glimpse of the price tag. And the value written on here makes your jaw drop.

“Woah, wait a second, Angel. This is way too expensive! I can’t get this.”

“C’mon. Yer not even payin’ for it. Don’t complain ‘bout the price!”

“That’s exactly why I can’t get it!” you explain. “I don’t want to make Charlie pay so much for me. I think it looks cool, but I’d feel bad if she spent so much on this.”

“Ugh, is that all?” he complains. “Fine then. I’ll buy it for ya.”

“No, that’s-“

“Didn’t I tell ya? I ain’t takin’ ‘no’ for an answer. Yer gettin’ this jacket, whether it’s with her money or mine. Doesn’t matter t’ me.”

“Angel, you really don’t have to-“

“I know” he interrupts. “But I want to. Is that so wrong?”

Looks like he was dead set on this. Maybe you shouldn’t have expressed interest in the jacket, but it was too late to take that back. You just wish Angel didn’t feel the need to spend so much for you. But even though it was a lot, he looked happy doing it. He was having fun after looking so miserable just minutes prior.

You didn’t want to take this happiness away from your friend.

“No, it isn’t. Thanks, Angel.”

“No problem. Oh, and uh, thanks for puttin’ up with me,” he praises. “I know you guys are in a rush, but I love makin’ wardrobe for people. I appreciate ya stickin’ with me.”

You give him a friendly smile as you say, “Don’t worry about it. I had fun too. But we should go now; Charlie’s been waiting for a while now.”

“Yer right,” he says. “Let’s head out.”

You make your way back to the front of the store. Unsurprisingly, Charlie and Alastor beat you there.

“There you guys are! What took so long?” Charlie asks.

“Sorry about that. Angel didn’t think the clothes I picked were good enough, apparently, so he picked out some things for me.”

She sighs. “It’s fine. Let’s just check out and get going. We’ve done enough looking around.”

“You got it, boss,” you reply, walking to the counter to finally get the employee out here.

Once you ring the bell, a frustrated groan comes from the employee’s office. “C-coming!” a male voice speaks out.

The door opens and out steps the employee. His appearance resembles that of an angler fish, the sides of his face having blueish fins protruding from them. Attached to the top of his head was a small esca that illuminated his face from above. Although he’s wearing what looks to be a store uniform, he’s also wearing a set of yellow goggles and black rubber gloves, similar to what one would wear in a laboratory.

He’s clearly irritated at having to deal with a customer, but his expression soon changes to panic as he sees the four of you. “Y-YOU!” he shouts as he accusingly points to one member of your group: Alastor.

Alastor seems pleased by the reaction. “Why, if it isn’t my favorite shopkeeper! How are you doing on this beautiful day?”

The angler fish frantically runs back into the employee’s office. “Do you think he’s coming back?” you ask. Before anyone could answer, however, he comes back with something that makes your heart stop. Although it was an unusual color of pink and bedazzled with rhinestones, it only takes a moment to register the thing in his hands as a _pistol._

You and Charlie hastily step back from the worker while Angel puts himself in a stance ready to attack. Alastor, however, remains unphased by the gun, stepping closer to the counter the employee hides behind.

“I t-t-told you to n-never come back here! N-Now GET OUT!” He steadies his hand, aiming at Alastor’s head.

“But forever is such a long time, don’t you think? Surely, you could find it in your heart to forgive me for whatever I’ve done to trouble you.”

“Forgive you?! F-F-First you t-try and steal a dress, t-then you… m-m-murder the cashier w-when he caught you. And n-now you expect me to j-just forget all that?!”

“Alastor, what’s he talking about?” Charlie inquires.

“Oh, that little incident! I simply owed Niffty something new to wear, so I thought Velvet wouldn’t mind if I took one of her beautiful dresses. However, the previous shopkeeper was… not as agreeable to the idea.”

“Because y-you were _stealing_ the dress! He tried to s-stop you, but you k-k-killed him for it!”

“Only because he decided to threaten me with that jeweled firearm that you’re currently aiming at me,” he notes. “Now, I would have hoped it would be obvious from our last encounter, but… **I don’t respond well to being threatened.** ”

The salesman’s hands shake at the implied threat, but he doesn’t take his aim off of Alastor. The situation was getting worse by the second. Someone needed to deescalate this, or else things would turn violent very quickly. Looking at Angel, he’s prepared for a fight, keeping a hold on his gun that he’s yet to pull out. If someone didn’t act soon, he probably wouldn’t hesitate to kill if necessary. Charlie seems insistent on leaving, but Alastor wouldn’t listen to her. So, having her take care of the situation might not lead to any results. And with Alastor being the cause of this predicament, that only left…

You.

But how could you solve this? Neither Alastor nor the worker would listen to you if you asked them to calm down. But that’s because you were just a bystander watching the incident. If you were to… get more involved, maybe you could reason with the store clerk. Despite just meeting him, you think he might be more willing to lower his gun than Alastor would be to leave. Although, you’d rather not risk getting gunned down. It could all end in catastrophe. Just one wrong move, and you might be dead.

But… you have to at least try. You were the reason you all came to this store in the first place. Having bloodshed just because you wanted some new clothes wasn’t right. It was up to you to put a stop to this.

‘I’m gonna regret this, aren’t I?’ you ask yourself with a sigh.

You step in front of Alastor, raising your hands in a demonstration of peace. Although you don’t see it, Alastor seems caught off-guard by your movement, head tilting in curiosity. The employee, however, seems only more panicked, now focusing his gun on you.

“Take it easy, alright? No one’s gonna hurt you.”

“A-A-And who a-are you?! One of t-the Radio Demon’s l-l-lackeys?”

“He and I are just co-workers. But what does that matter?”

“Anyone t-that’s around h-h-him can’t be trusted!”

You step towards him, which only causes him to panic more.

“D-don’t move!”

“Look, I’m sorry for any trouble Alastor caused you before, but I promise, we just want to buy some new clothes.”

You move closer again, only for him to re-aim his gun to your head.

“T-Take one more step a-and I shoot!”

You step once more. “Just calm down. No one needs to get hur-“

***BANG***

Your heart stops beating at the sound.

You wait for the pain to come…

…Only to not feel anything.

Opening your eyes, you look around. Behind you, there’s a hole that surely hadn’t been there when you entered.

“T-T-That one’s a warning! Next t-time, I won’t m-m-miss!”

The sound of another gun loading comes from behind you. You turn to see Angel has pulled out one of his hidden weapons, a black Tommy gun in his hands. “Fire one more time. I fuckin’ dare ya,” he threatens.

“Come on, it’s not worth it! We can find clothes somewhere else!” Charlie attempts to persuade you.

The rational part of your mind told you she was right. These clothes weren’t risking your life for. And it might turn into an all-out gunfight at this rate. Pentagram City was surely full of clothing stores that wouldn’t have such interactions.

…But, would that really be okay?

Sure, you’re afraid. Who wouldn’t be? ~~Well, maybe not Alastor.~~ Having your life threatened is a good reason to feel fear.

But you can’t run from fear.

The reason this demon is still here threatening you is that he’s afraid. He’s afraid of what the Radio Demon may do to him, which is a reasonable thing to fear. But the reason he’s standing here and not hiding is that he knows that running won’t solve the problem.

And if you walked out of here, what would happen? The tension between this clerk and Alastor would continue. He would probably be extra on edge for the rest of the day. Maybe even for longer. You wouldn’t get the clothes Angel had so much fun looking for you. This whole trip would have been for nothing, and everyone would be worse off because of it.

Was that really okay?

…Not for you.

So, you stand your ground.

“…Why the warning?”

He doesn’t respond.

“If you wanted to shoot me, you could have done so just now. Would’ve saved a bullet, too. So why waste one on the wall?”

“I-I said don’t move!”

Yet you do. Another step forward…

…But not another shot.

You have a guess to your question. “You know what I think? I think it’s because you’re not a killer.”

“H-huh?”

Taking one more step, you continue. “Killers are all too common in Hell, but you’re not one of them. You see value in life, right?”

His hands shake. “P-P-Please, s-stop moving!”

“Any other demon wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot, but you know it’s not the right thing to do. That already makes you better than them. Better than _him._ ” You pointedly look back towards Alastor, watching as your comment makes his grin stretch further. “You don’t want to be like him, right? A disgusting person with no respect for the lives of others. That’s not who you are.”

“…I-I-I…”

“You may be a demon, but you still have a conscience. And listening to that conscience makes you stronger than so many other demons.”

“…”

A few more steps and you’re right in front of the counter, now close enough to read his name tag.

“Baxter,” you address him. “Please.”

The gun is so close that there’s no way he would miss another shot. Slowly, you move your hands. His hands shake more violently, his index finger still resting on the trigger.

You keep moving.

You gently grab the tip of the pistol with both hands, slowly lowering it down. He doesn’t resist. Once it’s low enough, you lightly pull the gun out of his hands. Once he no longer has the gun, he raises his hands in defense.

“…P-please…” Baxter quivers. “…D-D-Don’t k-kill me…”

With the gun in one hand, you immediately throw it off to the side away from where the others stood. “It’s alright. I told you: we don’t want to hurt you.”

“…Y-You don’t…?”

“We just came to do some shopping, that’s all. Just check us out, and we’ll be out of your hair.”

“And we’ll even pay for the dress Alastor took,” Charlie adds. “It’s only fair to you.”

Doubtfully, he asks “You w-will? Really?”

“Of course! It’s the least we can do after this whole scene we caused,” she confirms.

“…A-Alright then.”

You place all of the clothes you picked on the counter. One by one, he scans them, placing them in a bag. The last item left to scan is the leather jacket, but before he scans it, Angel steps in. “Hold on, that one’s mine. I’m payin’ for it.” He digs into his pocket to bring out his wallet, and you notice the worried look Baxter gives. He’s probably afraid Angel might pull out a gun again, but thankfully, he takes out some cash and moves to hand it to Baxter. Baxter instinctively backs away as Angel steps closer, still not fully trusting the arachnid.

To avoid another scene, you take the money from his hand. “Thank you, Angel.” You place the money on the counter for Baxter to take. Hesitantly, he grabs it. Once he’s sure everything will stay calm, he finally scans the jacket and bags it. The total comes up, and considering everything you got, it wasn't surprising the total was such a hefty price. At least you'd have plenty of choices to wear now.

Charlie hands Baxter her card to pay the rest of the clothes. He swipes it, returning it to you, and handing you the bag of clothing.

“Have a good day,” you wish him.

You hear him mumble something. Though you didn’t make it out clearly, it sounded like he responded, “You too.”

All of you finally leave the store, overall relieved that nothing went wrong in there. Alastor’s expression is as jovial as ever, Angel still seems slightly on edge and Charlie… well, she looks somewhat angry. You think it might be because you’ve yet to return her card. Quickly, you pull it out, extending it for her to take. “Thanks for paying for these, Charli- Ow!” you yelp as she punches your arm, making you drop the card. “What was that for?!”

“What were you thinking?!” she yells. “Why would you put yourself in danger just for some clothes?! We could’ve just found another place to get some stuff!” She bends down to pick up the fallen card.

“I didn’t do it for the clothes!” you respond. “It was just to stop him and Alastor from fighting. It was obvious Alastor wasn’t gonna leave, so someone needed to step in between them.”

“But you almost got _shot_ for it!” she says as she stands back up. Her words hit hard. You could’ve easily been killed there if you were wrong about your guesses.

Without a good counterpoint, you concede. “…I did…”

“Look, I know you want to help, but you have to be more careful about situations like that.” She cautions. “Like you said, there’re plenty of murderers here in Hell. And most of them won’t hesitate to kill for a stunt like that.”

“Well it’s a good thing he wasn’t one of those murderers then, isn’t it?” you joke.

But she didn’t find it all that funny. “That’s not the point! You can’t be so reckless around these people; it’s not safe!” She firmly places both of her hands on your shoulders, forcing you to look at her. “Speaking as your boss, I’m telling you not to put yourself in danger like that again. But… as your friend, I’m begging you. _Please,_ don’t risk your life. I… don’t want to see you get hurt…”

You know she’s worried. And everything she’s saying right now is because she cares. You know that. But you couldn’t lie to her.

You’ve already taken so many life-threatening risks to be here. Coming to Hell in the first place was one that no rational person would probably make. There’s a good chance there’ll be plenty of life-threatening opportunities ahead. So, saying you’d avoid them would be a lie.

“…I’m sorry, but I can’t promise I won’t do anything like that again. If I think it’s the right thing to do, then I’ll do it. That’s just how I’ve always been.”

With a defeated sigh, she lets go.

Before she can say anything, Alastor speaks up. “Well, now that our shopping excursion is complete, would you tell us of this plan you’ve come up with, Princess?”

She has more to say to you, but she decides to drop it for now. “…Right. So, here’s the plan. We need to ask the Overlords if they’re willing to support us. There are three things we can ask them for specifically: clients, funding, and protection,” she lists. “I’ll go talk to Velvet. She’s super sweet, and she might find the hotel trendy enough to help us. But I can’t be sure. I might have made a not-so-great impression of the hotel with that interview, so she might say no. That’s why I need the two of you to talk to Val and Vox.”

Alastor lets out an exacerbated sigh. “As much as it pains me to admit it, if you wished for that hotel to become popular, then earning the support of Vox would be your best decision. Very well! I will go speak to him and sway him into aiding us.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” you question. “Didn’t you say you and he don’t get along? Maybe Angel should go instead.”

“Y-yeah! That’s a good idea!” Angel quickly agrees. “You can go ask Val, n’ I can go see that static head instead. Whaddya think?” he asks hopefully.

“Nonsense! I can be _very persuasive_. I have no doubt that that overrated picture box will listen to what I have to say.”

‘I doubt it,’ you think to yourself. Although you want to contest him, he doesn’t seem willing to budge. In fact, despite the sigh, he let out, he almost looks excited to go see Vox. Since you can’t think of any good reason for him not to go, you stay silent.

Angel, however, looks far less pleased with Alastor’s refusal. You can hear him muttering something under his breath, most likely an insult directed at the Radio Demon.

“Angel, since you know Valentino the best, you can go ask him to see if he’ll help us.”

“Uh, I dunno about that, toots,” Angel refuses, “Val… doesn’t like it when I ask him fer stuff. I don’t think he’ll wanna help with the hotel.”

‘There it was again,’ you noticed. Why does Angel always get nervous whenever Valentino’s brought up? It was so out of character to see such a confident man feel so uncomfortable. Maybe he and his boss got into a fight recently or something? Eh, it was worthless to make random guesses.

“Please, Angel,” Charlie pleads, putting her hands together in a begging manner. “We’re gonna need as much help as we can get. If he says no, it’s fine, but please, we need to at least try bringing him in.”

He turns his head away, debating to himself whether or not to agree. When he looks back at Charlie, he sees the bright, hopeful eyes she’s giving him, too adorable to refuse. With a frustrated sigh, he says, “Fine. I’ll see what he says. Just don’t get yer hopes up, alright?”

“Yes! Thank you so much!” She tightly squeezes Angel in a hug.

“H-hey, back off, goddamnit! Y’know how long it took me to fluff these up just right?!” He shoves her off, fixing the tufts of hair on his chest.

“Oh, sorry about that. I got a bit too excited there,” she admits sheepishly. “Anyways, are we all ready to go?”

“Wait, what about me?” you ask. “Who am I supposed to go ask?”

“Oh, you can go with whoever you want. Since you don’t know any of them, I didn’t want to just randomly assign you with someone, so you’re free to come with any of us.”

“Alright, if you say so.”

“Angel and Alastor, are you guys ready?”

Alastor readjusts his bowtie, preparing for his upcoming meeting. “I most certainly am, my dear! Let us head off!”

Angel, who seems much more reluctant than normal, answers, “Sure. Let’s just get this over with.”

The plan was set. Angel, Charlie, and Alastor would each go to one of the Three V Overlords to ask for their assistance. The only uncertain part of the plan was what one person would do: you.

Angel’s off to go ask Valentino, the owner of Hell’s most popular pornography studio. Angel was pretty hesitant about going to ask him for help. For whatever reason, you don’t know. He might not do so well on his own. Maybe having a friend to help him talk to Val would better the chances with him agreeing? Plus, you might finally figure out why talking about Valentino makes him so unsettled.

Charlie wants to ask Velvet, the most popular fashion designer in Hell. Charlie can be persuasive, but based on her interview, would her word alone be able to convince Velvet? Plus, you did want to keep her safe like Vaggie asked you to do, so leaving her on her own might be risky. And… she admitted to liking having you around her; you’d be lying if you said you didn’t want to be around her, too.

Alastor is going to see Vox, a famous television host that thousands watch every day. The issue is that Alastor admitted he and Vox aren’t exactly in good standings with one another. Maybe you should go with him to make sure nothing bad happens. Plus, you took his warning from earlier seriously. Staying by powerful ‘friends’ like him would be safest for you in a city with such intimidating demons.

While you were in thought, however, the three had already started walking towards their respective Overlord’s location. Angel heads eastwards, Charlie Northwards, and Alastor westwards.

So, the question is:

**Who do you join?**

  * **Lust (See Valentino with Angel)**
  * **Greed (See Velvet with Charlie)**
  * **Pride (See Vox with Alastor)**



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Make your choice.](https://www.strawpoll.me/20670852)
> 
> Because you headed into town:
> 
> You grew slightly closer with Alastor, Charlie, and Angel  
> You dealt with memories of your death  
> You got new clothes to help yourself  
> You learned about the 3V Overlords  
> You don't know what happened at the hotel  
> You weren't able to help Vaggie, Niffty, or Husk when they needed help
> 
> Voting ends August 9th.
> 
> This chapter was... "fun" to write.
> 
> And by that, I mean that I had one idea what I wanted to do with this chapter, decided it sucked about 3 weeks later, and started from scratch. Originally, I was gonna have Angel and Alastor leave immediately once you got to the city to talk with Val and Vox, respectively. Then I decided I wanted to write more interactions with them, so I edited it a bunch, and at that point, it was completely different from how I originally planned XD.
> 
> But I'm happy with the way this chapter turned out, and I hope you are, too.
> 
> But this next choice... OOooooo I'm excited to write XD. I'm really curious to see which Overlord people are gonna want to go see. Honestly, I'm excited to write any of the 3 V's. It's gonna be fun.
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for all of the new people who discovered my story for trying it out, and thank you to the ones that have been here for longer for sticking with it! I appreciate all the kind words I've gotten, and it keeps me motivated to continue writing. Have a good day!


	8. Overlorded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're off to see one of the Overlords. All I'll say is good luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You chose to go with Angel to speak with Valentino.

As much as you wanted to go with Charlie, she seemed to know this Velvet person well enough to get her on board. You going with her might not be much help. And as worried as you were that Alastor might cause some havoc with this Vox man he hates so much, you had to trust him when he said he could be persuasive. If Alastor was confident he could get Vox’s help, it was best to let him try.

But Angel… from the start, he was normally so confident. Every word he said, every move he made, he knew how to get people on his side. But every time the name Valentino was brought up, he seemed like a different person entirely. There wasn’t something right about his boss. Whatever it was, you weren’t sure, but leaving Angel to go by himself to talk to him worried you. He needed help.

And so, your choice was made.

“Angel, wait up!”

You hurriedly run off to join him. He looks back at you, slowing down to let you catch up.

“Huh? What’s the matter? Forget somethin’?”

“No, I’m gonna speak to Valentino with you,” you explain.

Angel looks taken aback, his fear from before showing again. “L-like hell you are! Just… go with one a’ the others. I’ll be fine.”

His assurance didn’t sway you too much, considering his earlier behavior. “You sure about that? You didn’t seem to want to go see him earlier.”

“W-What makes ya’ say that?” he questions.

You explain to him. “You tend to get quieter whenever Valentino’s brought up. Almost like you’re afraid of him.” He doesn’t respond, but his avoiding gaze tells you that you were right on the money. So, you inquire for more details. “Why are you so afraid to ask this guy for help?”

“Because-!” he starts yelling, but stops himself when he realizes how he snapped at you. Taking a breath, he continues, “…he’s… not exactly a generous man. He doesn’t like bein’ asked fer things. Thinks we’re too good fer him or somethin’. Plus, I’m not on his good side right now.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“I-I don’t wanna get into it. Let’s just say I… he thinks I fucked up real bad.”

“I see,” you respond. “Well then, I’ll just have to go with you, won’t I?”

“I’m telling you, it’s not safe. I won’t be able t’ do anything if he tries something funny. He’s not someone y’wanna mess with,” he warns.

Even though he was adamant about you letting him deal with it by himself, you weren’t going to abandon him now. “Angel, I know it’s risky, but we have to at least try. And if you’re worried about going to see him, then I won’t let you do it alone. Please, just let me help,” you beg, putting your hands together to plead to him.

When his eyes meet yours, he sees the determination in them. The unwillingness to budge. You were going with him whether he wanted you to or not. Finally, he gives in. “Fine. Just don’t say I didn’t try to stop ya.”

“I won’t. Thanks, Angel.”

He doesn’t respond. Instead, he continues walking without waiting for you. You yell “Hey!” before chasing after him, catching up to where he was and matching his pace. He gives you a sly grin as you two press onwards.

While making your way down the street, you pass by some other demons, giving the two of you glances. Although, unlike before, these glances weren’t out of fear. They seemed to be more out of interest in your duo. To be more specific, that interest seemed to be… attraction?

Well, it was for Angel, at least. Most of the glances you receive are much less pleasant. Whether it be confusion or hostility, you just pray that none of them might be considering you might be the angel that was reported on. You were slightly envious of the way they looked at the demon you walked with.

Angel, on the other hand, had remained unphased from every set of eyes on him. In fact, he was starting to look annoyed by constant attention. Before you can ask him about it, another demon walks the opposite of you on the sidewalk. His form is based on that of a monkey, and he makes no attempt to hide his glee at seeing Angel. Without shame, he bursts aloud, “Angel! I’m your biggest fan! I-I love your tits!”

You could feel yourself cringe at the compliment. ‘Way to be subtle about it,’ you sarcastically think.

Angel acknowledges the comment by snapping at the demon with his top pair of hands along with an accompanying wink. “Thanks, suga’. Yers ain’t so bad, neither.”

The demon bashfully chuckles at the compliment before hurrying away. Once he’s gone, Angel drops the fake smile he was giving.

“Fuckin’ piece a’ shit primate,” he mutters.

Once the fan interaction is over, you ask him, “Do people always stare at you and make comments like that?”

“Yeah, ‘s part of the job. Y’ get used to it after a while.”

“Oh, so that’s what you meant about the ogling, isn’t it?”

With an unenthused tone, he agrees. “Mhm. These pervs have seen me without anythin’ on. No doubt they’re thinkin’ of ways t’ try n’ get a one-on-one with me.”

“Well, has anyone?”

He laughs. “You kiddin’?! It’s part of my job! These chumps’ll do anything fer a private show. But I ain’t cheap, that’s fer sure.”

“Huh, well, at least it pays the bills,” you remark. “But do you like doing it?”

“Oh yeah, I love it. One: I love money. Two: I love sex. So gettin’ paid t’ have sex?! It fuckin’ rules! Just wish the clients weren’t so-“

Your conversation is abruptly interrupted by the sound of a car horn. A black car pulls up to where you two stand and the window lowers to reveal a black-feathered demon with a heart as a left pupil.

“Heya, Hot Stuff,” he says. “I snagged some more cash from my bitch of a wife. What’s say you and I go for another round?”

“Oh, y’wanna mess around in yer car fer a bit?” Angel teases. “Well sorry, but I got things t’ do. But maybe another time, doll.”

“You sure about that? I’ll pay double what I did yesterday,” the man pulls out a wad of bills from his pocket and waves it in front of him, attempting to lure Angel over.

Angel, however, looks more agitated than before. “Like I said, I’m busy. So would ya beat it already?!” At this rate, neither of them seemed like they would budge. Not unless someone stepped in between them. So, you join in to help Angel.

“Come on, you know you want more. So why don’t we-“

“He’s with me,” you interrupt, wrapping your arm around Angel’s, “and _we_ have somewhere to be. Let’s get going, Angel.” Angel looks down at your arm, startled at the contact. Once he realizes what you’re doing, he plays along, tightening his grip on you and giving the man a grin.

“Yep, we got business t’ take care of. Now fuck off.”

The birdman looks at you, taking in your appearance before he heartily laughs. “Oh, I get it. You’re already whorin’ yourself out to another slut, aren’t you?” he asks as he annoyingly cackles at you. While you don’t appreciate the comment, you recognize that what he said were empty words with no meaning. You wouldn’t let them get to you. Still, it stung a bit to be insulted so brashly. And his laughter wasn’t helping.

Fortunately, his laugh was suddenly cut off by the sound of a smack. The laugh is replaced by a brief cry of pain, and you see that the one that caused the smack was Angel.

“I said. _Fuck. Off.”_

The man feels his face and finds his nose to be bleeding. His cocky attitude from earlier becomes enraged at the realization. Instead of fighting back, however, he chooses to leave. “Fuckin’ bitch!” he shouts before speeding away in his car.

Once the car is out of sight,

“Some people are just so rude.”

“That’s hell for ya, Hot Shot. Full of dicks and assholes around every corner.”

“I realize that. But hopefully, we can get people like that coming to the hotel soon,” you optimistically say. “Now, let’s keep moving.”

The rest of your walk is filled with a few more uncomfortable glances at both of you, but nothing worth focusing on. Eventually, you finally arrive at the studios, gaping at the size of the building. The walls were adorned with photos of the Overlord, himself, along with a few promotional posters for upcoming films. Above the doorway, in bright pink neon lights, the establishment was simply named:

**Valentino Studios.**

“Alright, let’s go in,” you say.

But before you can enter, Angel pulls back your arm, halting you from opening the door. “N-not yet,” he says. “I need a smoke first.”

You weren’t too happy with him delaying this meeting. “Angel, come on, you can smoke after we get his help.” You were _right in front_ of the building, for goodness sake! How could he just stop now when you’re so close?!

“No. If we’re doin’ this, I need t’ relax fer a minute.”

“But-!” It was frustrating, for sure, but it wasn’t worth getting heated about. As much as you wanted to push on, the only way you’d be able to talk to Valentino was with Angel by your side. And right now, he wasn’t gonna go unless he calmed down. Might as well let him have this break.

“…Fine. Just don’t take too long,” you begrudgingly agree.

His grin returns. “I’ll try not to.” He pulls out a lighter and a packet out of his pocket, taking a cigarette out and placing it in his mouth. He brings the lighter to the cigarette, letting the end properly burn. Before returning the packet to his pocket, he hands it out to you. “Y’want one?”

You shake your hand in refusal. “No thanks. Never smoked before.”

“Eh, yer loss.” He places his things back in his pockets as he takes a drag from his cigarette. As he releases a puff of smoke, it comes out a cherry red color you’d never seen before. He, thankfully, blows the smoke away from your direction, letting it drift away in the air.

“Wow, that’s cool,” you comment.

“What is?”

“The cigarette’s smoke. I’ve never seen red smoke come out before. I’ve only ever seen them make gray smoke.”

“Oh yeah, it is gray in the livin’ world, huh?” he remembers. “Guess I’ve been here so long n’ gotten so used t’ this, I just forgot.”

“Yeah, it is,” you answer. You watch patiently as Angel takes his time, enjoying the long drags he takes in.

While he waits, you think about what to say to Valentino. How should you approach him? If he’s someone of high standings, you should be more formal, right? But he does work in porn, so maybe formal isn’t the right way to go?

‘Calm down, you’re overthinking this,’ you scold yourself. ‘Just relax and be genuine with him. You’ll be fine.’

Wanting to distract yourself from your worrying, you start chatting with Angel. “So, how long have you been dead for?”

“Uh, I dunno. What year is it now?”

“2020.”

“Huh. ‘Bout 70 years, then,” he answers.

“70 years?! That’s… not at all what I thought.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“Well, you just look and sound so young. I figured it would’ve only been like… I don’t know, 10 years or so?”

“Heh, nah. We don’t age when we die. It’s pretty great, ‘specially fer my job,” he remarks. “But no, ‘ve been dead since 1947.”

“Huh. Well, do you miss it?” you ask. “Being alive, I mean.”

“Ha! As if! The living world ain’t got shit on Hell. I sorta feel bad fer the people still alive. They dunno what they’re missin’ out on here!”

“Wait, so if you like it here in Hell, then why are you trying to get rehabilitated?” Not that you didn’t support the choice, but it seemed like he enjoyed his afterlife here. Why is he willing to give it all up?

“Honestly, I don’t know. I still ain’t convinced it’s even possible fer a demon to get to Heaven. Not like it matters. I mean, why’d anyone wanna be one of those pieces of shit angels?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“What, you don’t know ‘bout their ‘cleansing’?” he asks with air quotes. “Those fuckers come down and kill all the demons they can. Like we’re just prey for ‘em to hunt. ‘Least in Hell, we don’t pretend like we’re innocent saints that don’t do no wrong. We know what we are; they don’t. Heaven’s a shitty place with shittier people in it.”

“Oh, don’t say that. Heaven’s great-“ you start before realizing your error. “I-I mean, I’d imagine it would be great. No violence. No continuous threat of death. A peaceful life with loved ones. Who would… who would walk away from an opportunity like that?”

~~‘ _You would_ ,’ you answer in your head. ‘ _In fact, that’s exactly what you did.’_~~

“Wouldn’t ya know it? Most of my ‘loved ones’ are in Hell with me. If anything, escapin’ from those pricks is a good reason to get my ass to Heaven.”

“So, you’re not very close to your family?” you question.

“Eh, ‘s mostly my dad that I can’t stand. My brother’s fine, I guess. Was always the ‘golden child’ my pops was proud of. The only one I’d miss would be my sister. Might just be ‘cause we’re twins, but I always was closest to her.”

“Is that the only person you’d miss?”

“That’s it fer family, at least. ‘Course, I’d never wanna leave behind my girl buddy, Cherri.”

You ask him, “Who’s she?”

“Only the coolest bitch you’d ever meet! She a blast t’ hang with. Always the life of the party!”

“That’s nice. What do you guys usually do together?”

“Oh, y’know. Go t’ bars, clubs, turf wars. Just yer normal stuffs.”

“Sounds like fu- wait, ‘turf wars’?” you suddenly ask.

“Heh, yeah. You should see her fight. Just yesterday, we took out this one snake-lookin’ loser that tried to use eggs t’ fight with! You should’ve seen her throw a bomb right in his stupid face,” he recalls with a laugh.

“I-I see,” you respond. It sounded like this Cherri person was pretty intense. “Well, I’m glad you found someone you enjoy spending time with. But if that’s everyone you’d want to stay in Hell for, is there anyone else you’d want to get away from?”

He thinks for a moment before answering. Though when he responds, it’s with a gloomier mood from his earlier gushing about his friend. “…I guess there’s one other person that’d make me wanna go to Heaven…”

He puts out his cigarette, throwing it on the ground and crushing it with his foot. Afterward, he places both his hands on you, making you look directly at him.

“Listen to me, Hot Shot,” he instructs, “y’don’t know the type of guy Val is. I need ya to listen to everythin’ I tell ya to do. Got it?” It was an unusual seriousness not seen from Angel before. Because of that, you felt a worry that you couldn’t explain. But regardless of your worrying, you trusted Angel. If he said he knows best, you’ll believe him.

“You got it,” you answer.

He gives you a nod before turning back to the door, slowly pushing it open and revealing the inside.

Entering the building, the first thing that hits you is…

_The horrible stench of the place._

“Ugh!” You cover your nose with your hand. “Why does it smell so bad?!”

“Oh yeah, probably should’ve warned ya. Sorry ‘bout that,” he tells you.

“It’s like ten locker rooms all put together! What _is_ that?!”

“ _That’d_ be the sweet scent of sex,” Angel answers. “I dunno what you were expectin’.”

“Definitely not this!” you yell.

“You’ll get used to it. Just don’t breathe through yer nose, n’ you’ll be fine.”

You take his advice, keeping your nose protected from the awful smell as you follow Angel. Unfortunately, the smell wasn’t the only one of your senses that was affected by this place. Once you manage to overcome the putrid smell, the next thing you notice is the noises coming from somewhere.

At first, the sounds worry you as they sound like painful cries from people. But as you approach the source of the noises, you realize that they aren’t moans and groans of pain, but rather, out of _pleasure_. The realization makes your face heat up, much to Angel’s delight and your humiliation.

“What’s the matter? Never heard people shaggin’ before?” he asks with a smirk.

“C-can’t say that I have.”

He looks surprised. “Wait, don’t tell me yer actually a vi-“

“Angel!” his attention is drawn away from you as his name is called. It came from a small group of actors that you heard… _performing_ just now. You stay behind Angel, not looking in their direction as they have their conversation.

“Hey there,” he greets. “Sounds like the shoot’s goin’ well.”

“Where’ve you been, man?! Val’s been looking for ya.”

“O-Oh, has he? Well, I’ve been, uh, makin’ some money fer him. It’s part of my job, y’know?”

“That’s good to hear,” one of them comments. “That’ll help put him in a better mood.”

“Hey, so uh, you know if Val’s in right now?”

“Mhm, he’s in his office. You have a meeting with him or something?”

“Yeah, somethin’ like that…”

“Alright, have fun. Well, don’t have _too_ much fun with him,” another one of them jokes, making the others in the group laugh.

“…I’ll try not to. See ya guys around,” he says, ending the conversation and walking off. Before you join him, you see the actors from earlier eyeing you, whispering something to one another. It doesn’t sit right in your stomach, but you ignore it for now and follow Angel.

He leads the two of you to a closed-door labeled with the name “VALENTINO” in gold lettering. Angel gives the door a few quick knocks before someone answers.

“What is it?” a male voice asks.

“It’s me, Mr. Valentino,” Angel answers.

The voice doesn’t immediately respond, instead, giving a brief chuckle before acknowledging him. “Angel, baby! Come on in.” With that, Angel turns the doorknob and pushes it open.

As the door opens, you take in the sight of the office. The gaudy personality of the owner really showed in the décor, pink fur carpet covering the floors, and a plethora of self-portraits and photos of himself. In the center of the room was a large, golden desk that was probably worth a fortune, and sitting on the desk was an extravagant lamp that brightly lit the room.

In the room were two men in black uniforms, most likely there as bodyguards. Also in the room were two women seated on a side bench who appeared to be engaged in an intense make-out session. You quickly averted your gaze from them. And lastly, there was the person who owned the place. The infamous Overlord, seated at the other side of his desk was him:

_Valentino._

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Angel Cakes. How nice of you to finally come back to work.”

“…Heya, boss. S-Sorry I’ve been out fer a while. I’ve been busy wit-“

“Do you have my money?” Valentino cuts off.

Angel frantically pulls out his wallet, producing a large stack of bills from it. He sets it on the table for Valentino to pick up, and you watch as he counts how much he was given.

Once it’s all counted, he gives Angel a pleased grin. “Well done, baby. I knew you wouldn’t let me down…” he pauses before correcting himself, “…well, I knew you wouldn’t let me down _again_.”

Angel turns his head dejectedly. “O-of course, Mr. Valentino…”

“Now, I noticed you brought in a new face,” his eyes focus onto you, “Hey there, cutie. Who might you be?”

Angel brings you forward, closer towards Valentino. “This here is-“

“I didn’t ask you, Angel,” he cuts off. Angel folds his arms dejectedly, looking away from his boss. Before you can introduce yourself, he gets up from his seat, walking around the table, and approaches you. “Wait, let me guess. You saw some of my movies and thought ‘I could make it in this business’, didn’t you? If you want, we can make a deal, and I’ll make you a star even bigger than Angel! What do you think?”

Before he can even consider the terms of that deal, you shut him down. “No! No, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Hmm, that’s a shame,” he disappointedly comments. “Can’t say I’ve seen a demon that looks as much like a human like you. You would’ve been famous, for sure.”

‘How do I even respond to that?!’ you wonder. Without really knowing what to say, you just mumble out, “…If you say so…”

“So, since you’re not here about working for me, why are you wasting my time?”

You clear your throat as you prepare to ask your request. “Well, my name is Archer. I work at the Happy Hotel: t-the one that princess Charlie owns.”

“Yes, yes. I’m familiar with the place. And why exactly is that important?”

“U-um… we wanted to ask if you would help us out with the hotel.”

He leans back on his table as he keeps his eyes trained on you. “Oh, so the princess sent you to beg me for my help, did she? Interesting. Exactly what kind of help is she looking for.”

“There are three things we’re asking for. First, we’re looking for security: j-just in case someone tries to do something to the hotel or the staff. We were also seeing if you would give us some money to keep us funded, sort of like a sponsorship. But the most important thing we need is clients. A-and we thought that someone as famous and well-known as you would be able to… i-influence demons to try to redeem themselves…?”

He remains silent once you finish speaking, presumably considering your request. You stare awkwardly as you wait for him to give any sort of feedback to you. After a moment, he chuckles aloud. “Wow, isn’t that just so… _pathetic_?”

Well, that was blunt. “E-excuse me?" What part of that did he find pathetic?!

“The princess of Hell, the third most powerful demon, can’t even bring any clients in? I don’t know how else to describe that other than pathetic!” he laughs.

“W-We don’t have _zero_ clients, sir." you correct.

“Oh? And how many do you have?”

“Well, c-currently, we have…” you look away in embarrassment, “…one client.”

He lets out a laugh at your answer before speaking again. “And that one happens to be my greatest performer: _Angel Dust_.” He emphasizes the name, drawing his attention back to Angel. Valentino steps away from his desk and walks towards him. “The princess already managed to steal my biggest money-maker from me, and now she’s asking for more? How greedy can she be?”

“S-she didn’t steal me, boss,” Angel retorts. “She offered to pay me if I stayed at the hotel. T-that’s where I got most of that money from. I-I’m still yours-“

“So what I’m hearing is that you didn’t listen to me… _again,_ ” he says. “Didn’t I tell you to work on that corner till you got every dollar you lost me?”

“I-I did! That’s where Charlie paid me t’ try out her place.”

“Do you know how much of a laughing-stock you’re making my business?! I’ve had to so much damage control. And it’s all because you decided to stay at that hotel. Because now, people think you’re actually trying to fix yourself,” he says with a laugh. “But we both know that isn’t the case. Is it?”

“N-No, it’s not!” he answers. “I’m just doin’ it t’ make some cash for ya. I swear!”

But his answer made you question his honesty. Earlier, he said he came to the hotel to prove he can make it to Heaven, and now he’s saying he’s just in it for the money? ‘Which one is it?’ you wonder. ‘Would he really lie to his boss right in his face?’ A part of you doubted it, but you also wanted to believe in him. But you weren’t sure of his real intentions now.

“Are you really that bad at your job that you have to just be _handed_ money for doing nothing?!” Valentino’s question brings you back to the conversation.

Angel doesn’t answer him, looking away from the fear of what was to come. Seeing his fear, you ignore your earlier doubts about him and decide to try to help before things go too far.

“Come on, that’s not fair,” you interject. “He got you the money you wanted, didn’t he? Why does it matter how he got it?”

“It matters because he’s shown me time and time again that he can’t listen to simple instructions,” Val answers.

“I’m sorry, boss! I-I didn’t think it’d be such a big deal-“

“And that’s exactly the problem, Angel. You don’t think,” he says. “You don’t realize just how much trouble you’ve caused for me. And I think it’s time you learn how your incompetence affects me.” He stands in front of Angel. “You see, when you break my rules, I get _angry_.” He roughly grabs Angel’s face with his hand, forcing it up to look at him.

“ _And we both know what happens when daddy’s angry.”_

Angel’s eyes widen as he realizes what’s about to happen. “P-please, Mr. Valentino! I-I’ll be good from now on! Just please don’t punish me!”

“Too late for ‘pleases’, Angel. This is the only way I can get you to learn your lesson.”

“No, please-“

“Shut up!” he yells, raising his arm to deliver his punishment.

As Valentino lifts his hand, you know what he’s about to do. Angel was gonna be hurt because of this meeting. A meeting that was _your_ idea. Letting him get hurt because of it wasn’t right. You knew that.

So, you rush in front of Angel.

Just before you do, Valentino yells, “You’ve caused enough trouble for me, you useless _bitch_ -!”

You scream, “Stop-!”

The sound of a smack rings out through the room. Everyone freezes at the scene that just played out. The good news was that you were able to distract Valentino from hitting Angel, sparing him from the hit. The bad news was that the distraction made Valentino hit someone else.

And that someone happened to be you.

That’s why you were laying on the ground now, the force of the slap so strong that it made you lose your footing. You gently rub the cheek that he hit, cringing at the stinging sensation it left behind. You were sure that was going to stay red for a while. On top of that, the smack seemed to have made you bite the inside of your mouth. You can taste a bit of blood on your tongue, and you bring your hand to your lip to check.

Yep. Your mouth was bleeding.

Once you’re unphased by the hit, you see the two standing above you. Both looked shocked at your intrusion, Angel showing more concern than Val. You move to stand back up, but before you do, an idea pops into your head.

Instead of fully getting up, you remain on your knees as you look to Val. “Please,” you beg, “we don’t want to get violent. If you don’t want to help, then we’ll leave. But _please_. Don’t hurt him. He doesn’t deserve it.”

His shock seems to have faded, and instead, appears to enjoy watching your plea. He bends down to you, offering you a hand to help you up.

“So sorry you had to see that little outburst, sweetheart,” he apologizes. You don’t respond, instead opting to accept his hand. He brings you back to your feet, but he doesn’t move from in front of you. He, instead, gently caresses your face with one of his hands, using his thumb to wipe away the trail of blood from your mouth. Although the touch makes you a bit uncomfortable considering he just smacked you, it didn’t seem like he would hurt you again.

“Aren’t you just so sweet? You’d do anything for the ones you care about, wouldn’t you?” he asks.

It didn’t seem wise to ignore his question, so you give him a response. “I guess so. I know, it’s a bad habit.”

“No, no, no. I think it’s a great quality you have,” he rebuts.

“Really?”

“Of course. It’s rare to see that sort of compassion nowadays. I think you fit right in at that hotel of yours,” he compliments. “Maybe I will help you, after all.”

Your face lights up at his words. “You will? Seriously?!”

“Well, not for free. I want something out of this, too.”

‘Uh oh,’ you think. ‘There’s always a cost, isn’t there?’

“What’d you have in mind?”

“How about this?” he offers. “I’d be willing to help with your little hotel _if_ you help me.”

Did he… he actually said he’d be willing to help?! Finally, some progress! You’re owed that much after that hit you took.

You don’t hesitate to ask for more details. “What kind of help do you want?” you ask.

“Oh, you know. Just helping around here at the studio. A few jobs here and there, doing some… personal jobs for me.”

It sounded simple enough. Just a few odd jobs, and you would be really helping the hotel. It was… a little weird to be doing it all at a porn studio, but that wasn’t big enough to dissuade you. “I… I guess I could do that, sure.”

“Great! So…” he stretches his hand out towards you, “what’s say you and I make a-“

“D-Don’t you fuckin’ take his deal!” Angel suddenly shouts.

You look towards him, surprised by his outburst. “Huh? Angel?”

“Oh, Angel, baby… I _know_ you’re not trying to interrupt one of my business deals, right?!” Valentino is practically seething at Angel’s defiance.

He raises his hands up defensively, preparing for whatever Valentino may try. “O-of course not, boss! I-It’s just… we, uh… we’d need to ask Charlie about this deal first. She is their boss, y’know? So, we’ll just-“

“If the princess really cared all that much about getting my help,” he interrupts, “then she would’ve been the one speaking with me here. But instead, she sends in her little _pet_ to do the work she doesn’t want to handle. So, this deal doesn’t involve her; it’s all about _you._ ”

‘It’s all about me, is it?’ you wonder. Oh, how you desperately wanted to call Charlie and ask for her opinion. But you think you already know what she’d say. She did warn you not to make deals with Overlords, after all.

But was it okay to pass up this opportunity? Who knows how the other two were doing with their meetings? What if this was the only shot you had to get some support.

Maybe, for now, it would be best to hear what the deal entailed.

“What would you have me do?”

“Like I said, just a few jobs here and-“

“What kind of jobs? I want details of what I’m agreeing to. Just tell me specifically what you want me to do.”

He smirks as he comes up with a response. “Tell me, what do you think I’d have you do while working for me?”

“Uh, I don’t know.” You try to think. How were you supposed to know what kind of work he’d expect from you? “Maybe something like… uh… picking up your… dry cleaning?”

For a moment, his grin falls, eyes widening at you. Then, a small laugh comes out of him. And then, “He.. hehe… Ahahaha... AHAHAHAHA!”

His laugh filters out the room, and even the guards join him in his laughing. Angel, on the other hand, just shakes his head at you.

“D-did you hear…?! ‘Dry cleaning’! HAHA!,” he continues on in his enjoyment. “They think that… haha… that I’ll have them just p-pick up dry cleaning!”

You couldn’t help but go a bit red at all of their laughing. “I-I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then?”

“Haha… oh… holy shit… that was… heh… that was fuckin’ _good_ ,” Valentino compliments as he wipes a tear from his eye. “Ah, thanks for that, sweetheart. I haven’t had a good laugh like that in so long. I can already tell I’m gonna _love_ having you around.”

Frustrated, you try to get to the point. “Okay, so that was a dumb idea, I get it. So, what _do_ you want me to do for you?”

“Tell me. You know where you are right now, don’t you?”

The answer seemed simple enough. “You mean your office?”

“And where is this office located?”

“Obviously, in the-“ you stop as it hits you. “…the… porn studio…”

“That’s right. I knew you could figure it out,” he compliments.

Your voice becomes shaky as you continue. “…Y…You want me to…?”

He smirks. “ _That’s right._ Could you imagine what we could do with a human-looking demon like you? I have great plans for you in the future. Heh, even thinking about them now is getting me _excited._ ” His eyes scan your body, looking at each of your features in detail.

You feel yourself shiver at his gaze, growing more and more uncomfortable with the ideas he has for you. “I-I don’t think I can do that,” you explain. You try to justify why you wouldn’t be good for the job. “I-I mean, I’m not really experienced with all of that, and I have to work at the hotel, and-“

“Wait. ‘Not experienced’, you say? Don’t tell me. Are you… you’re a virgin, aren’t you?!” Valentino asks excitedly.

“W-W-What?! What kind of a question is tha-“

“That wasn’t a ‘no’.” He picks up on your attempted evasion. “Now, answer the question. I wanna hear you say it.”

Looks like there wasn’t a way to escape the question. As embarrassed as you were for being so forcefully outed like this, it was the only way to keep the conversation going.

“…Yes, I’m a virgin.”

His boisterous laugh returns. “Oh, this just gets better and better! Watching it happen for the first time- that loss of innocence they held for so long- that’s something no actor can replicate. It’s a feeling everyone only goes through once, and we’re gonna capture yours on camera.”

“H-hold on!” you interject. “ I-I can’t do that! I _won’t do that!_ Isn’t there any other way to get your help?!”

“Hmm,” he ponders. “Well, if acting isn’t okay, I guess you could just be one of my… _servants._ ”

'A servant?' Of course, it didn't sound too bad, but knowing him, you couldn't leave it at just that.

“And what would you have me do as your servant?”

He smirks before answering you, his golden tooth glimmering in the light.

“It’s pretty simple. You’ll do _anything I tell you._ ”

That didn’t sound so good. “A-anything?!”

“That’s right. When I say ‘jump’, you ask, ‘how high?’ When I say ‘run’, you ask, ‘how fast?’ When I say ‘hit’, you ask ‘how hard?’ You never say ‘no,’ you never ask ‘why,’ and you never _ever_ disobey. You’ll be mine till the day you die, but you’ll get whatever you want.”

You’re left in disbelief at his demands. You wouldn’t be a servant- you’d be a slave to him! And “anything” was such an ambiguous term. Who knows what sort of orders he would give you?! “T-There’s no way I can accept! I-I still work for Charlie, after all. I can't just abandon her! And besides, I can’t just give myself up to you. That's not-“

”Why not?” he asks. “That’s just what thousands of demons do. They want something, they ask us for it. We made deals, and everyone is happy. Even our Angel Dust has a deal with me, and he couldn’t be happier, could he?”

Angel snaps back to attention. “...Definitely, boss-“

”However,” Val interrupts, “time and time again, he’s let me down. And now I’m not so happy with the way our deal worked out. Far more ‘give’ than ‘take’ from my end.”

You ask him, “what’s your point? Why bring him up?”

”Well, I believe Angel will be more of a detriment to me in the future. His reputation in ruins, thousands of dollars wasted on filming with him. He’ll run this business to the ground,” he explains. “So, if I were to acquire a new assistant: someone who I’m far more confident will know how to listen to orders, then I’ll just let Angel Dust go.”

”W-What?!” Angel asks surprisedly.

”To put it simply: I will end our deal if your friend here accepts this new one. You won’t work for me, you’ll never be in one of my movies, and I _never_ want you to come back.”

“I...” Angel’s at a loss for words. And you can’t blame him.

It seems... so unbelievable. So much so that you’re still weary to believe him about a part of what he said.”Wait, when you say ‘end the deal’ you don’t mean...”

”Oh, you’re worried about me killing him, is that it?” he casually asks, which you nod your head to. “No, I won’t hurt him to end our deal. He’ll just walk out of this door and never return. You have my word.”

This is something Angel has probably wanted for a good while now. He’d finally escape from the grasp of Valentino. No more worrying about being abused. No more stress about conversations with him. He’d be... free...

...But at the cost of your own freedom.

”I...I’m still not sure I can accept-“

“I guess that hotel isn’t that important to you then,” he remarks. “What a shame. That place has so much potential to do good for these poor sinners.”

“I-I didn’t say that-“

“Then why hesitate?" he asks as he paces around you. "Isn't this why you came here? To get my assistance? This is the only other way I’d give my support. Make the deal, and you get my help. Simple.”

‘This is the furthest thing from simple!’ you yell in your head.

Well, the basic concept of the deal was simple, at least. “So, you’ll help us with the hotel in any way we need it if I agree to be your servant?”

“That’s right. Money. Clients. Guards. Anything that pretty little princess needs will be hers. _As long as you agree to be mine._ ”

If he was gonna give you everything you needed, then taking the deal was right, wasn’t it? But being forced to serve him-having him own you to do his bidding;- was that right for you? “Um. Well, let me think…”

“Oh, and one last thing,” he says. “You see, I hate having my time wasted. Time is money, as they say. So, should this whole meeting turn out to be a waste of my time, as in, I _don’t_ have a deal made, well then…” he fixes his gaze away from you and pointedly at Angel, “… _someone_ will have to pay. And I don’t think either of you has the money for the time you’ve wasted.”

Angel looks away at the threat. Was he really gonna hurt Angel if you didn’t take the deal?! Was it okay to let him take the fall for this? He shouldn’t have to deal with that. And to have this opportunity of freedom stripped from him? It wasn’t-

As you were thinking, you feel Angel pull you off to the side, rushing before Valentino could object.

“Don’t do it. _Please_!” Angel begs you. “Don’t worry ‘bout me, It ain’t worth it for ya. Nothing good’s gonna come from this. We can find somewhere else to-“

“I think you’ve spoken enough, Angel.” Val butts in, pulling you away from the spider.

“Wait, please, just let us talk it out-“

“Nope, we’ve wasted enough time. I need an answer. _Now.”_

Everything was so conflicting. What was right? What was wrong? Who would be better off? Who would suffer? So many questions left in the air and with no time to look for answers.

‘What should I do?’ you ask yourself.

If you took his deal, you’d get all the help you needed. The hotel would be better off with Valentino’s support. And you’d help Angel escape someone he truly fears. He might never get this chance again. But, of course, you’d be giving up the most important things in your life… yourself. You’d be his slave if you agreed. Charlie warned you of how dangerous deals with Overlords were, and based on what he told you his demands were, it wasn’t gonna be easy working for him. Should you listen to Angel as you told him you would and decline Valentino’s deal?

If you walked away from the deal, you’d get nothing out of this experience. You’d walk back to Charlie empty-handed, but you would still be free. And Angel clearly is trying to protect you here to make sure you’re okay. Whatever happens with this deal can’t be good news for you. But what about his threat? From the sound of it, Angel might get hurt for “wasting his time” with this deal. Is it really okay to put him in this position? And was it alright to deny him this chance to walk out a free man? Was that fair to him?

“Just to let you know, I’m not a patient man,” he warns, indicating that it was time to give him an answer.

“O-okay, okay!” you tell him. “I’ve… I’ve made my choice.”

His grin widens at that. “ _Excellent_. So, sweetheart…” As he stretches his hand out towards you, a bright, amber light emits from it, encasing the room in its glow. You’re momentarily blinded from the light, but once your vision recovers, you see that proud smirk he has as he looks down on you. It was time to decide. Time to give him an answer to the dreaded question:

**“Do we have a deal?”**

  * **Accept (“I’m yours.”)**
  * **Refuse (“You won’t own me.”)**



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Make your choice.](https://www.strawpoll.me/20812081)
> 
> Voting ends September 5th.
> 
> Because you went with Angel:
> 
> You saw Angel being heckled by passersby  
> You learned more about Angel's past  
> You stopped Valentino from hurting Angel  
> Valentino was willing to help... for a price  
> You couldn't help Charlie with her meeting with Velvet  
> You couldn't help Alastor with his meeting with Vox
> 
> Shout out to RobynRayeCassidy for giving me a new idea for the chapter!
> 
> I finally managed to do it! I managed to get close to my estimated word count and made a chapter that didn't get significantly larger than the previous one! The streak is broken. But, I believe the next chapter will be longer, no matter which option is picked.
> 
> Me before "Addict" came out: So people are probably gonna want to go with Charlie or Alastor. I don't see Angel getting many votes.  
> Me after "Addict" came out: Well, better figure out how I want to write Valentino. XD
> 
> So yes, I'm starting the "We Hate Valentino Club". No congregation necessary. We just all mutually hate Valentino for his treatment of Angel. Pretty easy.  
> Honestly, though, he's a lot of fun to write. Just trying to make the worst person imaginable is different, and honestly, I wanted to punch Valentino for what he's doing (even though I'm the one making him do it lol). Hopefully, you weren't expecting a happy outcome going to see Val, cuz let's face it, nothing good comes with that rat.
> 
> But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had a great time with it, and I'm sooooo looking forwards to seeing how this next poll will go. I have a detailed plan for one of the options chosen and a basic outline for the other, but either way, it's gonna be... fun?
> 
> Have a great day!


	9. Veni Vidi Vici

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor, Charlie, Angel, and you all met with Overlords. How did each of those meetings go? And what happened after those meetings?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You refused Valentino's deal.

Alastor merrily makes his way down the street, enjoying the lovely scenery around him.

The streets that were normally so populated were far quieter at the moment. Alastor figures it’s because the extermination had killed off so many that the town got quieter.

It may also have to do with the fact that other demons had pointedly avoided sticking around when he was coming.

Oh, how it delighted him so. Watching the fear start to grow as they realize he was walking by. Avoiding eye contact as his eyes wandered from demon to demon. Witnessing them rush to get out of his way as he approached as if they would actually be able to escape if he wanted to kill them.

He could feel his own wicked smirk growing.

He hums a tune as he walks, letting the sounds of his radio increase in volume. Another indicator for other sinners that the Alastor wasn’t too far. He loved the sound of the hurried footsteps that grew quieter and quieter as he approached. It always was a nice accompaniment to his music.

He continues, passing by many locations he would normally stop by at. The little restaurant where he would stop to feed the birds (who enjoyed their food alive as much as he did). The park that was always vacant during his strolls. The butcher’s shop that provided fresh cuts of meat for him to enjoy. All the normal places he would go on a typical day of his life.

At last, he finds himself in front of the building. The flashy signs that arrogantly show the owner of the establishment.

“VOX STUDIOS’

He steps past the doors, waltzing into the building as if it were his. His static was loud enough to alert others that he was there. The majority of sinners that were sitting in the lobby either scrambled to hide from him while only a few remained where they were.

Satisfied at the reaction, he walks to the desk to speak to the receptionist. “Good afternoon! I was hoping to have a word with Vox as soon as possible. Preferably, now if I may.”

The receptionist stutters out. “T-Terribly sorry, Mr. Alastor, b-but Mr. Vox isn’t seeing anyone at the moment, so-“

“I promise, I won’t take up much of his time,” Alastor interrupts. “Just a few minutes will suffice.”

“L-Like I was saying, Mr. Vox is b-busy at the moment, so he can’t see you right now-“

Alastor chuckles. “My dear. You’re not actually refusing me from seeing him… **are you**?”

The receptionist quivers. “N-No, of course not! I-I’ll make sure to tell him you’re waiting, but h-he’s currently on air, so he won’t be ready to meet you until the next commercial break.”

“Oh! Well then, make sure you tell him I’m here when he’s finished with his program!”

The receptionist just nods, quickly scrambling to call Vox’s office, leaving a message saying that Alastor was here to see him.

Alastor moves to find a seat to wait at. As he makes his way to the seats, more sinners begin to scurry away, which only amused Alastor further. He scanned the lobby in search of somewhere to wait. He spots a small bench that a sinner was currently occupying alone, so he thought he would give them the gift of his company. As he approaches, he sees them shake more and more in fear.

“Is this seat taken?” he casually asks. The demon doesn’t bother answering, instead, running off to stay away from him.

Alastor takes that as a ‘no’.

He promptly takes a seat on the bench as he waits for Vox. He takes the time to look around the building of his enemy. He’s sure that without his presence, this lobby would be filled with sinners looking to make it in the television industry. Or just fools who felt working for Vox would make them successful. How many of those people could he turn onto his side? He’s sure a few deals could be made to win them over. That is if anyone would actually come to him. But as it stands, not many would willingly approach him unless it was out of desperation. Not most would be so willing to come to him so easily. As much as it irked him sometimes, he knew he had to be patient with situations like that. He understood that many were just naturally standoffish with him, and they just needed time for him to win them over.

Like you, for example.

“U-Um.” The receptionist speaks up, getting Alastor’s attention. “Mr. Vox is… ready to see you now.”

“Wonderful!” Alastor says, giving the receptionist a short bow. “Thank you for your assistance!” He heads towards the elevator doors, leaving the lobby which had been completely abandoned since his arrival.

He steps into the elevator, riding it up to the top floor. The music selection for the elevator was some sort of “new-wave” thing he had heard about. Horrible, in his opinion. He doesn’t know when people stopped enjoying good music, but it was a good while after he had passed.

When the elevator doors open, Alastor sees the man himself sitting there, a frustrated expression on his rectangular face. With his signature black suit, red bow tie, and top hat, his fingers drum against the table he’s seated at, impatiently awaiting his “guest”. Alastor approaches the greatest nuisance he’s had the displeasure of meeting:

_Vox._

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the radio nuisance, himself,” Vox greets.

He doesn’t respond to the insult. “Vox, my good man! Always a pleasure to see you!”

“I know. Everyone loves seeing me. Too bad the same can’t be said about you.”

“Oh, Vox. You poor, ignorant fool. If only you knew how well-received my broadcasts were.” Alastor breaks away from this topic before he gets too heated about it. “But I’m not here to compare numbers. I simply wish to discuss something with you.

“Well, whatever it is you came here for, make it quick. I got a show to run and not much time for my break,” Vox orders.

Alastor nods. “Very well, then I’ll jump straight to the point. I’ve come with a proposition for you.”

“Ooo, a proposition, you say? I never would’ve expected you to swing that way, but I’ll have to decline,” he jokes. “I already belong to another, sexier Overlord.”

Alastor’s smile stains. “Not that kind of proposition, you pervert!” he corrects. “It’s a business proposition.”

“It’s always business with you, Alastor. You’re no fun, you know that?”

Letting out a sigh, Alastor ignores the insult and carries on with his pitch. “Are you familiar with the establishment Princess Charlie is operating?”

“You mean that hotel thing? Yeah, I know it. Did you see her interview yesterday? What a shitshow that was!” Vox says with a laugh.

“Oh yes, that was quite the train-wreck to witness! But I thought about it more and more, and I thought it would be a great source of entertainment.”

“Entertainment? Really?” Vox doubts. “How would something like people trying to better themselves be something anyone would want to watch?”

“Think about it. A show dedicated to documenting the failures of those loathsome sinners as they struggle to reach the gates of Heaven! Imagine the despair they’ll feel when they realize that escaping from their eternal damnation is impossible!

“So you don’t believe in any of the nonsense the princess was spewing?” Vox asks.

“Ha! Of course not. They lived a life that led all of them here, and this is the punishment that awaited them. If they really wanted to be in Heaven, they should have shown it when they were alive. But to see them actually try to reach self-betterment would be nothing that Hell has seen before!”

Vox thinks to himself for a moment. “…It sounds promising enough, but why are you telling me all of this? I know it’s not because you actually want me to be successful… well, more successful than I already am.”

“All we would need from you is to give up some… ‘willing’ participants to partake in the program. Or even some that would act as security for the premises. Perhaps even a few dollars here and there to keep the show going.”

“So that’s why you came, then? You just need an extra bit of help with that hotel?”

“Precisely! And in exchange for your services, you would have free reign to do… whatever it is you do with your television shows. Filming, and whatever other nonsense involved with it. A show that is guaranteed to skyrocket your success even further!” Alastor extends his hand, offering it to shake for the deal. “So, what do you say?!”

“Hmm, I admit, the idea does sound interesting,” Vox says, “but my answer’s no.”

Alastor brings his hand back. “And may I ask why, exactly?”

“Oh, it’s pretty simple, really. Anything _you’re_ involved with is guaranteed to be bad news for me. If you’re interested in that hotel, then I want nothing to do with it.”

“Really? Is that all?” Alastor asks with fake mockery. “I’m hurt that your hatred for me is so powerful. Truly, your words wound me.”

“It’s not just that,” Vox corrects. “It’s clear you don’t know the basics of business, old man. Why would I work with someone that doesn’t believe in what they’re working for?”

Alastor corrects him. “I do believe in the establishment. Maybe not the same belief its owner has, but I believe it will have a far better outcome than expected.”

“Hmph. Then good luck with it. My answer is still no,” Vox tells him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m busy right now. My original guest got slaughtered in the extermination, so now I have to scramble to find someone to fill the time slot.”

“Ah, of course. The nuisances of network television. I guarantee you; I never have to worry about this with radio.”

“Well, of course not,” Vox taunts. “Like any self-respecting icon would actually _want_ to be a part of your broadcasts. Can’t lose what you never had.”

Again, Alastor brushes off the juvenile insults. “Very well. I’ll take my leave then.” Before he exits the room, he turns his head back to Vox. “Oh, and I would recommend investing in a new staff member to man the front desk. I find your current one a bit too mouthy for my liking. It would be a shame if… something was to happen to him.” He wasn’t actually annoyed by the man in the lobby; he was just hoping to get a rise out of Vox one last time before he left.

Before he can make another comment, Vox’s cell phone starts to ring. He picks up his phone, instantly changing his tone to a much more flirtatious one compared to before, seemingly not caring too much about the life of his employee. “Hey, babe. What’s shakin’?” He pauses as he listens to the person on the other end. “Ooo, sounds like you had some fun without me. Tell me the whole story.”

Alastor pays the conversation no mind as he makes his way back down the building.

Well, it seemed as though Vox wouldn’t be helping. Not that Alastor minded too much. He knew if he was helping, it would only be a matter of time before Vox would try and take over the establishment. Hell, he may still try one day, even if he isn’t involved with it.

Whatever it takes to get those views.

Alastor supposes he can understand the sentiment. As a performer, himself, he knows the importance of giving your audience a good show. The importance of keeping the viewers invested in what was happening. Still, Vox would never truly understand good showmanship. Letting grand opportunities slip by was a novice mistake on his part. But, oh well. That just meant Alastor had another leg up on him. A show Vox chose not to take part in.

By the time Alastor’s train of thought ends. He finds himself back at the limousine they had all ridden here in. He considers what he wanted to do now that he was forced to wait. He could wander off, perhaps take another leisurely stroll while the others were wrapping up their meetings.

Or maybe he could… _check in_ with how those meetings were going.

He decides the latter option would be more enjoyable for him. But who should he have his little helper pursue? Although he much prefers the company of Velvet over Valentino, Alastor guessed his interaction with Angel was the more entertaining option.

He sends his shadow off towards the pornographic studios, somewhere he would never actually step foot in. His shadows helped him keep that vow. The shadow maneuvers its way throughout the studio, forcing Alastor to see many _unsightly_ visions he would soon rather forget. It reaches the door of where the moth Overlord did his business. The shadow slips through the crack in the door to see the show before him.

…Hm, it surprised him that you had gone off with Angel Dust instead of Charlotte. He knew you and the princess had gotten closer since your first meeting. Perhaps you were just trying to spend time with everyone? Since you had gotten to know the princess better, maybe it was time for someone you hadn’t spoken to much?

~~He wouldn’t admit it, but if that were the case, he’d be a bit offended that you had chosen Angel over him.~~

He returns his attention to your discussion with Valentino…

…Although, at this point, there wasn’t much talking in this discussion.

It was less of a discussion and more of a… _brutalization_.

He witnesses the messy display of violence at that studio. The moth Overlord’s sick delight in watching his victim suffer. And normally, Alastor would also take pleasure in that suffering…

…But… with this…

…It didn’t feel entertaining to watch.

He couldn’t explain why. He was the infamous Radio Demon, after all. A man who always took pleasure in the suffering of sinners. The man who, only a short while ago, took great pleasure in tearing a sinner’s body apart. But on this occasion, he didn’t have that satisfaction he usually experienced.

He doesn’t look away, though. He keeps his eyes fixated on the show, as any good audience member would. And when it was over, Valentino showed his delight with a standing ovation that the other viewers joined him in. Alastor, however, didn’t feel it deserved any applause. It was… how should he put it… dissatisfying to watch.

And if _he_ was dissatisfied with the performance, then he could only imagine how Ms. Charlotte would react to this…

* * *

Charlie’s walk to Velvet’s spot was mostly uneventful…

…Not counting the numerous laughs she got.

She had many eyes trained on her, along with many hecklers to boot. They asked her things like “How’s redemption going?” and “Business booming yet?”

She does her best to ignore the comments, but she has to admit, they did start to get to her. She knew people would be like this, especially after that interview from yesterday. It wasn’t a surprise that many demons would only use that as ammo to hit her with.

But other than those words, nothing stopped her from going on with her plan.

She finally makes it to the place she knew she would find Velvet:

“VELVET’S IMPRESSIVE PALACE”

She wastes no time walking in, taking in the gothic blacks and reds that colored the interior. She walks up to the reception desk where a demon sits behind a computer.

“Hi, there! I was hoping I could meet with Velvet if she’s not too busy right now?”

Without looking up at her, the receptionist comments, “Tch. You think she’s gonna take the time to talk to some rando like you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Listen, lady, Velvet’s far too busy to meet anyone, so why don’t you just-“ she finally looks up from the computer to see who’s standing before her. “Oh! Princess Charlie! I’m so sorry for being so rude!” she quickly apologizes.

“T-That’s okay. So, can I talk to her?”

“Of course. I’ll let her know you’re here.” She picks up the phone, holding it to her ear as she pushes the button to call her. “Ms. Velvet, the princess is here to speak with you-“

Charlie hears an excited squeal come from the other end. “She’s here?! Send her up right now!”

“Will do,” she hangs up before speaking to Charlie again. “Take the elevator up to the top floor.”

“Great, thanks.” She moves away from the desk and walks over to the elevators, pushing the button and waiting for the elevator to come back down. It makes the telltale “DING” noise as the empty elevator opens. She enters it and pushes the button with the highest number.

As the elevator rises, she thinks to herself about how to try and convince Velvet. The two of them were pretty good friends, but she wasn’t sure if Velvet even believed in the redemption process. Probably not, since she hadn’t said anything about it when Charlie first told her about the hotel. But still, Charlie wanted to believe Velvet would lend a helping hand to her cause. She just… wasn’t sure how to go about it.

But she didn’t have time to think. The elevator dings again as the doors open. The room she ends up in is the rooftop of the building, a giant glass dome that allows easy access to see all of Pentagram City. The room was furnished with a large entertainment center containing a wide television and a huge couch that could sit many people. On the other side sits a small bar area with a few stools to relax on.

And at that bar, the drink maker was idly listening to the woman seated there as she rambles on.

Charlie announces her presence to get their attention. “Hey there.”

The woman sitting swivels in her stool, her red and black hair no longer facing Charlie. The gray face painted with make-up has an excited smile grow on her face as she sees who it is. Charlie returns the smile at once again meeting up with her old friend:

_Velvet._

“Omigosh!” Velvet rushes over to where Charlie stands and gives her a tight squeeze. “Princess Carly! How are you?!”

“Good, thanks,” she says. “It’s uh, ‘Charlie’, actually.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, how have you been?! It’s felt like _years_ since we last talked!”

“Uh, you know it was only last week, right?” she corrects.

“Was it? Oh yeah, you’re totally right! Crazy how time just goes by, right?”

“Y-yeah, it sure is.”

“Oh! I am _so_ glad you came, Charlene! There’s something _super_ important I wanna show you!” Velvet excitedly yanks Charlie by the hand before she has the chance to correct her again. She brings her to the futon she was seated in earlier, moving some pillows out the way for her guest to join her. The two of them sit down as Velvet brings out her phone.

“So, what exactly is this ‘super important’ thing you mentioned?” Charlie asks.

“Hang on, gotta find it real quick.” She scrolls through her photo album, which notably consists of selfies of her with various clothes. She finally stops when she finds the photo she was searching for.

The image itself was nothing out of the ordinary. In it were two of the other Overlords: Vox and Valentino, sitting at a desk with some fast food. Although the two of them were pretty messy with how they were eating, it just looked like people enjoying some food. Charlie didn’t see what was so special about the photo. 

“Okay, what am I looking at here?”

“A-are you kidding me?!” Velvet asks, almost offended. “Look at the way Val is eyeing Vox!”

Charlie looks at the picture again and pays attention to Val’s face. Again, nothing really notable about his expression. He was just normally looking at Vox eat.

“Uh, and what’s so special about it?”

“Do you not see the serious ‘do me’ eyes he’s flashing him?! It’s so obvious!”

“So, you think that the two of them are… you know…?” she asks awkwardly.

“Oh yeah, these two are _totally_ fucking,” Velvet casually answers.

“S-seriously?! A-And why exactly do you think that’s important news?”

“Because last week, Val smashed Vox’s face, and Vox had to pay a ton to get his face fixed. You should have _seen_ how livid he was! It was so funny!” she recalls. “Anyways, a few days ago, he was saying that they were ‘never getting back together’. But I knew that was all bullshit! So, I did a little spy work, and I can definitely say they’re already back. Guess he and I have different meanings for ‘never’.”

“Okay, but why did you need to share that with me?”

“Because _everyone_ needs to know about this, Cherry! I’ve already told everyone that works here about it! And now, you know, too! Now you can go and tell everyone at your…” she pauses. “…uh, what was it you worked at? A café or something?”

“No, it’s a hotel,” she corrects, “and that’s actually the reason I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh, really? Well, what’d you want to talk about, Carrie?”

“It’s ‘Char’- nevermind,” she stops, deciding to focus on her pitch. “You know how I want to help rehabilitate demons in my hotel, right?”

“Mhm.”

“And did you see the interview I had on the news yesterday?”

“Mhm.”

“And you probably can guess that after that whole thing, no one’s taking me seriously- hey! Are you even listening?!” she asks as she realizes Velvet was browsing her phone.

“Mhm.”

“Velvet!”

She chuckles. “Oh, I’m just teasing, Barbie!”

“T-that doesn’t even start with the same letter!” Charlie points out.

“But yeah, I was listening. You wanna use that hotel of yours to help rehabilitate demons, but after that little song you sang, no one takes you seriously.”

“I- actually, yeah. That’s everything I said.”

“See? I’m a really good listener.”

“I… I see that. Well, anyway, the reason I wanted to talk to you was to see if you would be willing to… maybe… you know, help us or something?”

“Hmm? Help how?”

Charlie explains to Velvet. “I know you have a lot of people that like you. You’re probably one of the most well-liked Overlord in Hell. People listen to you. So, maybe if you promoted the hotel a little bit, then some of them might want to come.”

“Ooo, so you want me to run some ads for you, then.”

“That’s one idea we had. If you don’t want to do that, then maybe you could donate money or security for us?”

“Security? Did something happen?” Velvet asks.

“Sort of. But we just want to be prepared in case something happens.”

“I guess that makes sense. Isn’t it just you and your girlfriend running that place?”

Charlie corrects her again. “Oh, Vaggie and I aren’t dating anymore. But we’re still good friends, and we’ve got a few more staff members to help. The Radio demon actually came by and offered to help- “

“Wait,” she interrupts, “Alastor is working there?”

“Yeah, he just joined us yesterday.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry, but I absolutely won’t help you.”

“Huh? Why not?!”

Velvet sits up as she prepares to tell the whole story. “Okay, so a while ago, he went into one of my shops and tried to steal one of my most valuable dresses. And then, when the manager tried to stop him, he used his creepy tentacle-thingies to rip him apart!”

“He… he really did that?”

“Yes. He. Did,” she goes off. “Firstly, do you know how hard it was to get all of the bloodstains off of the clothes?! They all had to be washed, like, 5 times just to start getting the stains out! Secondly, he killed Axel, one of my best employees! … Or was it Alex?” she asks herself. “Alan? No. Alice? Alexa? Eh, the name’s not important. What’s important is that he killed one of my people. There’s no way I’d wanna work with that guy!”

“I see. So, Baxter was telling the truth then.” Charlie figures out.

“Baxter? Who’s that?”

“He was the employee at a shop me and my friends went to. He told us about what Alastor did, and he even pointed a gun at Alastor when we were checking out.”

“Oh, Baxxie! I totally forgot he was working there. I feel kinda bad for putting him there. Normally, he does a lot of science-y stuff for me, but since Adam, or whatever his name was, got killed, I asked him to run the shop for now. He _hates_ having to do a job that makes him talk to people.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. When we got there, he wasn’t even at the register. He hid in the employee area until we were ready.”

“Yep. Definitely Baxxie. But did he make the sale?”

“Mhm. Just got some clothes for a new member of our staff.”

“Wait, did you buy clothes from Valuable, Eloquent, Lovely, Very Expensive Threads Store?”

Charlie nods.

“I’m _so_ sorry you went to that place to shop! Not a lot of people go to that one, so I haven’t updated the stuff there for so long! I can’t believe your poor employee has to wear a bunch of old outdated crap!”

“I-It’s no big deal, really. They were just glad to be out of the clothes they were wearing.”

“Well good for them. And I’m so proud of Baxxie! Breaking out of his bubble like that! But I should probably tell him to not point guns at my customers. But then again, it was at Alastor, so I guess I could let it slide,” she trails off. 

Charlie tries to steer the conversation back. “So, about the hotel, are you sure you wouldn’t want to help in any way?”

Velvet sighs. “Look, Chloe. You know I love, love, love, love, _love_ you, like, sooooo much,” she starts. “but right now, I don’t think I can help you.”

“Is it really just because Alastor’s a part of it?” Charlie questions.

“Well, other than the ‘Alastor murdering my employee’ thing, I’m behind on one of my projects now. After the extermination, one of my best models was killed, and now I don’t have anyone else to take their place!”

“Oh, well, maybe I could help you, and then you could help me?” Charlie suggests.

“Hmm… Nah, you wouldn’t work. I’d need a model that would stand out. And not one that embarrassed themselves on TV. No offense.”

Charlie… can’t refute that point. She knows her reputation, however credible it was before, was pretty much gone after that broadcast. No one would want her to represent their brand.

“Okay, so I might not be able to help with your brand, but could you, at least, think about supporting the hotel?” she asks.

“I do. I really do wanna help. But with Alastor there, I don’t think-“

Charlie’s the one that cuts her off, this time. “Please! I’ve worked so long on this! And to see it all fall apart before we even get a chance to help one person?! I can’t let that happen! And with you, I’m sure we’ll have a chance at redeeming people! My dream of a peaceful way to solve the population problem will come true!”

Velvet tries to remain adamant, but seeing Charlie in this state makes her less confident in her refusal. “Uh, I don’t know…”

“Please, just take some time to consider it.” She didn’t like having to beg this much. But it was the only thing she could think of doing. So, she gave the most innocent glance she could to Velvet.

And it seems like it was working.

Velvet tries to maintain her gaze, but looking at Charlie’s pleading eyes broke her. She couldn’t say ‘no’ to that. “Fine. I’ll think about it, Clarisse.”

Charlie lets out a relieved sigh, moving to give Velvet a small hug. “Thanks, Velvet. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“I haven’t agreed to anything yet! I will _think_ about helping you, but no promises.” Despite her hesitation, she reciprocates Charlie’s embrace.

“Even that’s plenty. Thank you so much!” Charlie praises. She couldn’t help her gleeful smile from taking over her face.

Velvet stands up from the couch, breaking contact with Charlie. “Well, if that’s all you need, then I’m gonna get back to work. These clothes aren’t gonna sew themselves.”

“Right. I won’t take up more of your time.” Charlie follows suit and rises from the couch. “It was really nice talking to you. And again, thank you so much for even considering helping us.”

“Yeah yeah, I know, I’m the best,” Velvet jokingly compliments. “And it was nice talking to you too, Callie. Let’s hang out again soon!”

“Definitely. I’ll see you later!” she says as she walks back to the elevator. As she enters the lift, Charlie sees Velvet give one final wave goodbye. Charlie returns the wave as the doors close in front of her.

As the elevator descends back to the ground floor, Charlie jumps excitedly, glad to be getting somewhere with the hotel. Talking to the Overlords might have worked! Who knows, maybe you, Angel, and Alastor were able to get Valentino and Vox’s support, too. This could be a _huge_ breakthrough!

The elevator door opens, and some demons watch as she jumps. When she realizes that she was being watched, her cheeks turn red, and she hurriedly walks out and towards the door.

Charlie heads back to the parked limo, her mood much brighter than it was coming to the building. If there were hecklers, she paid them no mind. She was finally making _some_ progress. Of course, there was always the chance that Velvet would decide to not lend her support, but Charlie chose to believe that she would. As much as her optimism might have hurt her before, it was just her nature to always believe the best would happen. And she truly believed that her hotel would be a great success very soon.

When Charlie makes it back to the limo, she finds Alastor already waiting there for her. His expression perks up as she approaches where he stands.

“Hey, Alastor!”

“Ah, there you are, darling!” he greets. “How did your talk with Velvet go?”

“It went pretty well, honestly,” she answers. “She said she’d think about helping us, but she’s a little hesitant to because, uh… she’s behind on one of her projects.” She says, purposefully leaving out the part about Velvet’s feelings towards Alastor.

“Hmm, I see. Well, I’m afraid Vox wasn’t all that much better. But don’t fret, my dear! We still may have help from Valentino!”

She nods in agreement. “Yeah, I hope Angel was able to get Val’s support.”

“So, our Marksman didn’t accompany you?”

“No, they didn’t. I’m guessing that means they’re not with you either, right?”

“Correct. That must mean they went off with our effeminate fellow.”

“I just hope those two are alright. I’m kind of worried about Archer,” Charlie says. “I know it’s not easy for a new demon to be surrounded by a bunch of other threatening ones. Especially since they still look so human.”

“Yes, I’ve never seen a demon look as unchanged as them. They’re quite the curiosity, aren’t they?” Alastor comments.

“You think so, too? I wanted to ask more about them, but they seem to be pretty private about themself. I don’t want to pry if they don’t feel comfortable talking about it.”

“Well, aren’t you the sweetest soul in the seven circles? But knowing about your employees would be wise, don’t you think? If they’re hiding something, does that not worry you at all?”

She thinks about it for a moment before answering. “Of course not. Everyone has things they don’t want to tell people. If that’s what they want, I’ll respect it.”

Alastor chuckles. “Of course, you will. But I must admit, I’m very curious about them. Perhaps when they and Angel Dust come back, I could-“ he stops as he notices something in the distance. “Speak of the devil. And the angel, for that matter.”

Charlie, confused as to why he stopped, turns around to see what he was looking at. At first, she doesn’t even recognize the person, just feeling a sense of pity for the poor soul. As soon as she realizes who it is, however, her pity turns into horror. She hurries over to what Alastor was looking at, shocked at the person standing before her eyes.

“Oh… Oh God!” she says in a panic. She doesn’t know what to do. What could’ve happened? Who could’ve done this? So many questions come in during her panic. She feels the sensation of a tear fall but pays no mind to it. Right now, this was a much bigger issue to worry about.

Of all the things to happen while they were out in the town, she was hoping…. _Really_ hoping… that… nothing would happen… to…

* * *

You…

You made up your mind.

You turn down his deal.

“I… I can’t do it. I won’t let you own me,” you tell Valentino.

Although it would help the hotel, having to give up yourself just to get that help isn’t a fair trade. You’re sure Charlie would understand you not going through with the deal. She is the one who told you to never make deals with Overlords, after all.

Plus, Angel had risked his own safety earlier to tell you to not take his deal. He looked out for you, and you weren’t gonna pass up the risk he made for you. If he said the deal wasn’t gonna be good for you, you would listen to your friend.

You trusted him.

Behind you, you hear Angel audibly sigh at your rejection.

Valentino looks… far less pleased than Angel, however. He retracts his hand, the light emanating from it fading out. “Well, that’s unfortunate. I guess you really don’t care about the hotel, after all.”

“That’s not true!” you argue. “I care about it, but I’m not gonna give myself up to you just to get your help!

He still doesn’t let up. “Oh, I see. It’s not the hotel itself you don’t care about: it’s the _people_ that you couldn’t care less about. Sinners to redeem. Money to help them. Guards to protect them. None of those were worth it?”

“It’s not that simple! You know what you’d be asking of me. To do ‘anything you tell me to’. To be your slave for the rest of my life. There’s no way I would _ever_ agree to that!”

He waves his hand at you dismissively. “Oh well. I won’t cry over it. You let an opportunity pass you by. There’s nothing I can do about it. But I guess there is some good news about this,” he says. “That means Angel gets to stay with me! Aren’t you thrilled about that, Angel Cakes?”

Angel looks back at his boss. “Of course, sir! I’m… I’m really glad I’m stayin’. I dunno what I’d do without ya.”

Valentino grins. “That’s what I like to hear. I would’ve hated having to toss your ass on the curb. Good thing you won’t ever have to worry about that happening. Looks like you’ll be with me till the day you die… unless, of course, I do have to get rid of you. But you won’t let that happen, right?”

As Valentino spoke, you were having more and more trouble keeping quiet. This was infuriating for you to watch. Seeing him toy with Angel, talking about him like he was expendable. Who does he think he is to act like that?! Just because he was an Overlord didn’t give him the right to be so terrible to other people! Especially, people you care about.

People like Angel.

You couldn’t stand idly by and watch a friend get treated like that. So, you speak up.

“Okay, that’s enough!” you intervene. “Leave him alone!”

Valentino glares at you. “Excuse me?”

“This whole time, you’ve been nothing but horrible to Angel. Calling him useless, almost hitting him, threatening to throw him out like he’s garbage.” You don’t hold back how you feel. You _can’t_ hold back at this point. Angel didn’t deserve this, and you’d let Valentino know it. “Angel’s a good person that’s worked hard to make you happy, and you just sit there and treat him like garbage! Don’t you think he deserves at least some respect?! Some sort of gratitude for everything he’s done?!”

“Don’t even give me that. I treat him like that because we both know he can do better. But time and time again, he just fucks up. Angel deserves far worse than what I’ve given him.”

 _That_ gets your blood boiling. “So what if he’s made some mistakes a few times? Everyone screws up now and then. But that’s no excuse for treating someone like they’re nothing! Have a heart and show him some appreciation for everything he’s done for you!”

“Have a heart?” he asks aloud with a chuckle. “Firstly, sweetheart, I don’t have a heart. No demon has one. Secondly, I don’t see why you’re trying to get involved in this. It’s an issue for a boss and an employee. Your input isn’t needed.”

“It bothers me when someone I consider a friend is treated so poorly by someone who thinks they’re above him! It doesn’t matter if you’re his boss; you’re a horrible person for treating him so badly. And Angel’s life would be way better if you weren’t a part of it!”

Valentino visibly shakes with rage. He’s probably not used to having people stand up to him. It was about time someone put him in his place. You felt a bit proud that you were the one to do it.

The shaking subsides, and he exhales a deep breath. “Is that so? Well, that doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you made your choice about the deal. But there’s one part you might’ve forgotten,” he starts as he straightens his posture, letting his full, intimidating height tower over you. “I think it’s finally time to pay up, don’t you? _It’s time for the punishment_.”

You look over at Angel, seeing him quiver. You weren’t about to let him go down, at least not without trying to stop it. You stand defensively in front of Angel, your arms spread wide to shield him as much as possible. “Don’t hurt him! He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Hm? Oh, you thought it was Angel that would be punished?” he asks as he tilts his head. “No no no. Angel won’t be punished…”

He snaps his fingers.

“ _You will._ ”

You startle hearing that. Surprised by what he said, you don’t notice the two guards come up from behind and move Angel out of the way. Suddenly, one grabs your left shoulder and pulls it hard. From the force, something pops in your shoulder. You cry out as the sensation gets stronger. While you writhe in pain, the guards take the chance to grab onto you and keep you in place. They each grab an arm, which only makes the pain worse in your left arm.

Valentino makes his way over to you. “Tell me: why the hell would you think I would punish Angel?” he asks.

“Y…You said you’d hurt him if I didn’t take the de-“

“Don’t try to put words in my mouth,” he interrupts. “I never I said Angel would get hurt. I said _someone_ would be punished.”

You don’t respond, instead, thinking about what the terms of the deal were. Did he really not say Angel would be punished? Maybe you just assumed it, but that was because he would’ve smacked him if you didn’t stand in the way. It wasn’t crazy to guess he’d punish Angel over you.

As you think, Valentino continues his monologue. “You see, I know my Angel Cakes,” he says as he walks towards him. Though Angel visibly startles at hearing his name, he doesn’t retaliate as Valentino places a hand under his chin to lift his head up. “Though he’s made plenty of mistakes before, one thing I know he would never do is so blatantly waste my time. Whose idea was it to come to me?”

You don’t answer, too distracted by the pain in your arm. The guards behind you tighten their hold, making you yelp in pain.

“Answer the question.”

“I-I-it was me! I said we should talk with you!” you answer honestly.

“I assumed as much. So tell me, why would I hurt our sweet little Angel when he was only being used by you to talk to me?”

“W-what?! I didn’t use him for anything!”

“No? I’d beg to differ,” he argues. “Do you really think someone like you would ever get the chance to speak with me unless you had Angel as a connection?”

You struggle to answer. “I don’t know. P-probably not, but-“

“Exactly. Now, can you explain how you _didn’t_ use Angel to get to me?”

“Well, I-“

“Not just you. But everyone at that hotel has been using him. Don’t think I missed the part of Charlie’s interview where she proudly said Angel was staying at her shithole,” he says. “She doesn’t care about redeeming him. She only cares that he’s there to bring more people in. Again, using my poor Angel for her own selfish desires.”

“T-that’s not-“

“Now, it’s time to pay the price. This is what happens when you mess with the ones I love.”

You try and writhe yourself free, but the guards’ grips on you are too strong to break free from. So, if you can’t escape physically, you’d have to try persuasion.

“Y-You can’t do this!” you yell.

“And why not, exactly?”

Your mind scrambles for a reason for him to let you go. It was hard to concentrate on any cohesive thoughts with the overwhelming fear you felt, but you finally came up with a reason. “W-What about Charlie?! You know: the person you said was the ‘third-most powerful demon’?! If you do this, think of what she might-“

“You think I’m afraid of that dim-witted _bitch_?!” he asks with as much scorn as he can muster. “It doesn’t matter how much power she has. She doesn’t have the balls to use it. She’s too ‘pure’ to actually try and hurt one of her ‘beloved citizens’.”

“Well, what do you think she’d do after she sees me beaten?! There’s no way she’d let it go that easily.”

“She’ll cry about it. Then, she’ll try to tell you about how I’m not all that bad. That deep down, I’ve probably got some good in me. The same bullshit she says about every demon.”

‘This is pointless,’ you think. It was clear he wasn’t at all worried about Charlie. Trying to make her seem more intimidating wouldn’t work at this rate.

“O-Okay, so you don’t care about Charlie,” you concede. But you have another idea.

If Charlie wasn’t enough to make him worry, then…

“H-How about Alastor?”

He pauses at the name. “Alastor? As in, ‘The Radio Demon’ Alastor?”

“Y-Yeah! He works at the hotel, too! And he’s a good friend of mine,” you bluff a bit. “If _he_ sees me after your punishment, do you think he wouldn’t do anything?!”

For a moment, he contemplates your words. But just as you think he believed you, Valentino merely laughs again. “Alastor’s friend? Oh, that’s good. Almost as funny as the dry-cleaning thing.”

“W-Why’s that funny?”

“It’s because you’re being used,” he answers. “Whatever the Radio Demon might have said to you doesn’t mean shit.”

“Huh?”

“I may despise the man, but one thing I admit to is his apathy is unmatched. The ability to not care about anyone. Even I’m not that heartless. I have people in my life that I couldn’t imagine being without. Most people do, for that matter. And that’s a big weakness if used properly,” he comments. “People are weaknesses. Friends. Loved ones. Anyone close to you is just ammunition for others to use against you. Alastor doesn’t have anyone like that. No one he cares about. No one that cares about him. It’s a lonely life to live, but it gives him the upper hand. Admittedly, I find myself a bit impressed with how little he cares about others.”

As he makes his final point, he saunters over to you.

“So, I have a hard time believing that he’ll give two shits about what’s gonna happen to you.”

You struggle to come up with another argument to save yourself. So, you try the basic plea to win him over. “Val, you’re making a huge mista-“

A fist to your throat interrupts you.

“You know, you said a big flaw of yours was looking out for others too much,” he says, “but I think talking too much is your biggest problem.”

You cough as your airway is blocked off, trying to get any air to flow properly again. The pain still lingers, but it gets slightly easier to breathe again.

When you look back up at him, he’s pulling out a metallic bat from under his desk.

“I always keep this here for protection. But today, it’ll get some special use,” he says with a wicked smirk.

He steps towards you, bat in tow, as you start to quiver. You shut your eyes, preparing for what will happen next. You know at this point, there’s no reasoning with him. He won’t show mercy to you. All you could do now was-

“Actually,” he starts, “I won’t be giving out the punishment.” You open your eyes, confused as to what he meant. After saying that, he stretches out the bat to the person standing next to him:

Angel.

“Go on,” Valentino tells him. “You’ll be the one to make things right.”

“W-What?!” both you and Angel shout.

“Yes, I want you to be the one to deliver the punishment.” He brings the bat closer to Angel. “I’ll tell you when I think they’ve had enough, so get to work.”

Angel just stares at the bat, hesitating to reach out and grab it. “I-I dunno if I can do it, boss.”

“Yeah, there’s no way he would do that!” you shout.

Val just chuckles. “Sweetheart, did you forget what the conditions are for working for me?” he asks. “When I say ‘jump’, you ask, ‘how high?’ When I say ‘run’, you ask, ‘how fast?’ When I say ‘ _hit_ ,’” he looks directly at Angel as he finishes, “you ask ‘ _how hard_?’”

Angel’s eyes widen at those words, the memories of his agreement coming back to haunt him. You see Angel conflicting about what should be done. But he manages to speak up.

“S-Sir, please. Just let them go-“

“Angel, didn’t you hear what they said?” Val asks. “Even though they thought that refusing that deal meant you would get hurt, they still turned me down. Your ‘friend’ was so willing to let you take the punishment and get off scot-free. Can you really call someone like that a friend?”

“T-T-That’s not true! Angel told me not to take your deal! He knew that-“

“That’s right. Even though he was afraid of being hurt, he still did what he did because he wanted to protect you. But when the time came where he was in danger, you couldn’t bring yourself to do the same. And you call yourself his friend?” he sneers. “Pathetic, as far as I’m concerned.”

This was hopeless. No matter what you said about how you care about Angel, Valentino would just twist your words to make him think you didn’t care. This line of thought wasn’t getting you anywhere. Your brain quickly tries to think of another plan. The first and only thought that comes to mind was trying to turn it on him.

Maybe you could flip his argument on him instead of you?

It’s the last thing you think of to save yourself.

“Look at what you’re doing, and tell me who’s the one using Angel?”

“Hm?” You’ve piqued his interest, at least.

“Y-You’ve been talking about how much you care about Angel and how this is all what’s right for him. But did you even asked him if he wants to do this? If it’s really in his best interests, then why hasn’t he done it yet?”

“Simple. Because you’ve already fooled him enough to make him think he should care. I’m just bringing your deception to light.”

“We both know that’s just an excuse to have him torment me. You pretend like you care about him, and now, you’re just using him to do your dirty work! You’re a hypocrite for saying that I’m using him when you didn’t even think about what he wanted to do!” you yell. “You really think he wants to hurt me? Or do you not care about him enough to even consider if this is what he wants?”

You know that calling him out about his treatment of Angel was what got you in this situation in the first place, but right now, you don’t care. If he really was going through with this, you weren’t gonna hold back anymore.

He walks back to Angel. “You know what? You’re right. I shouldn’t force him to do this if he doesn’t want to. So, here’s what I’ll do: Angel, I’ll give you a choice.” Val offers. “You and your friend here can walk out of here right now. I’ll even fix their arm for no extra cost. But if you do that, you’ll just have to… pay me back some time in the future.”

Angel’s eyes go wide at his words. “B…By ‘pay you back’, do you mean…?”

“Oh, yes. That’s _exactly_ what I mean.” Valentino informs. He smirks as he explains the next option. “ _Or._ You can carry out the punishment and give me a good show with it, and the debt will be resolved. I’ll even forget all of the mistakes you’ve made recently. It’ll be like a clean slate for you. And, as a bonus, you won’t have to worry about… ‘you-know-what’ anymore.”

Angel freezes, contemplating Valentino’s offer. You can tell he’s having a hard time trying to make a choice, weighing out the consequences of his options. Would Angel really be willing to give you his punishment? You’d like to believe he’d never do that, but considering how long he’s taking to decide, you know it’s entirely possible he will.

“So? What’s it gonna be?” Valentino asks.

Fear overtakes your mind as Angel contemplates his options. You could tell Val wanted this punishment to be brutal. He wouldn’t let you off without making you pay. That bat was gonna do serious damage, and there’s no way Angel would be able to hold back. He’d beat you until you were writhing in agony, pain overtaking every part of you. You feel your nerves get shot at just the thought of him beating you senseless. Needless to say, you didn’t want that to happen. You’d do anything to stop that from happening.

So, you try begging one last time. But not to Valentino.

“Angel, please,” you desperately implore. “w-we can just leave. Y-You, don’t have to do this. _Please_ don’t do this to me…”

He stares into your eyes, uncertainty riddled in his expression. He takes a step back, lowering his hand with the ba-

“Angel,” Val calls behind him. He turns to look at his boss. “I know you’ll make the right choice.”

His hands begin trembling. His eyes frantically move back and forth from you to Valentino, trying to decide who to listen to. His mind races to pick an option, knowing that someone will have to suffer from his choice.

Finally, he shuts his eyes. He inhales a deep, shaky breath.

Opening his eyes up, he looks directly at you.

He whispers only to words to you.

“… _I’m sorry_.”

You feel dread overtake you he raises the bat. You give one last scream before he swings it down. It collides straight with your skull, a loud reverb coming from it as you cry out in pain.

The instant the bat makes contact, you already feel the damage in the form of blood. It pours down your eyes, causing your vision to be obscured, which made it even more terrifying not knowing when the next blow was coming.

“Angel,” Val calls out. “Leave the face. It’s the only thing this one has going for them.”

He doesn’t respond, only reangling his aim to focus on your abdomen. Another swing hits you in the chest, soon followed by another. And another.

And another.

And another. This time, you think you hear something crack inside of you. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be easily healed anytime soon. Not with how hard his hits are.

You can’t tell if he’s holding back his strength. Part of you hopes he is, but judging on the sheer force of his swings, you couldn’t be sure.

A hit in the side is enough to bring you back to the situation, a whole new part of the body to experience the pain.

“Don’t forget the other side. Wouldn’t want the pain to feel unbalanced,” Valentino contributes.

Angel follows his orders, smashing your other side with the bat, which only leaves you further in agony. One of his swings misses your stomach area, instead, hitting you in your upper leg. You keel over a bit, only to be kept up by the guards holding your arms.

The beating continued with full force. You couldn’t tell what Angel was feeling about this whole thing anymore. Maybe he was numb to the idea of hurting you at this point. Or maybe he was hoping that the faster this was done the better. Either way, the swings kept coming. The pain got stronger. The screams got weaker.

Until finally.

“Well done, Angel!” Val suddenly compliments. He walks over to where Angel stands, taking the bloodied bat out of his hands. “You always know how to put on a good show for me. Let’s all give him a round of applause!”

The girls in the room give a standing ovation, one of them going so far as to tauntingly request an encore. The two guards release their grip from you to applaud, which left your beaten body to unceremoniously collapse onto the floor.

As the room filled with the claps from the “audience”, you curl into yourself, trying to hide your sobs from them. Your whole body was in pain, even the parts Angel didn’t hit. You cough during your quiet sobs, traces of blood leaving your mouth. Every breath was a struggle, your chest aching from the constant rise and fall.

The applause finally dies down, and Val looks back down at you. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I think he more than made up for the time you cost me. Not only was it a great performance, but I’d say it was very educational for our guest here.”

You don’t look up at him, too afraid of what he may do to you next.

He only continues to speak more. “I hope this taught you something valuable. No matter who you know. No matter who your friends are. No matter what you think you are, remember one thing. To the rest of the world,” he pauses as he leans down closer to your level.

“ ** _You’re nothing,_** ” he insults. “You’re just scum that doesn’t know their place in life. You’re too full of yourself to know how far beneath me you are. Too full of yourself to know when to be respectful to those above you. You’re an insignificant worm that doesn’t realize how little people care about you. When people like you die, no one is saddened by it. No one remembers those people. No one misses those people. When you die, the world will keep spinning, and for some, you’ll just be a forgotten memory. Nothing more. But other people, like Angel, will have much better lives since you won’t be a part of them.”

Despite your current suffering, his words strike a deep chord within you. So blatantly bashed, both physically and mentally, was just too much for you to take.

He gives one final warning. “Don’t you _ever_ come back to this studio. Because the next time I see you, you _really_ won’t like what happens afterward.”

You don’t have it in you to verbally respond. All you can do is weakly nod.

Seemingly satisfied with that, he steps away. “Get this rat back to the street where it belongs.” With a snap of his fingers, the two guards lift you by your arms and proceed to drag you out of his office. Angel moves to follow after you, but before he can leave, Val beckons him back. “Not you, Angel. I still need to have a word with you.”

Angel doesn’t say anything, instead deciding to silently obey his orders. You, however, are hauled out of the door and back through the studio you walked through. You lift your head slightly to see ahead only to see many pairs of eyes watch you being pulled away. None looked particularly sympathetic for you- only curious. Curious as to what you could’ve done to end up like this. Regardless, you let their stares get to you, bringing your head back down out of humiliation. Tears fall from your eyes, both from the pain and unwanted attention. Once you’re through the studio, the guards open up the front doors of the building and toss your body onto the sidewalk, shutting the doors behind them.

You don’t move.

You _can’t_ move.

Every movement hurt. Every part of you hurt. You just remain on the floor, doing your best not to go unconscious. You feel too dizzy to leave your current position. But you know you can’t stay like this forever. If you let yourself stay too long, you might just not get back up again. So, you need to at least try.

You force yourself to try to stand. You get on all fours, making sure to put less pressure on your damaged arm. Slowly, you push your arms up to try and stand, but your arms buckle underneath you, causing you to fall back to the concrete. After letting out a wince and waiting for the sting to pass, you try again.

This time, you push yourself up faster with your arms. You launch your upper half up to a standing position only to stumble back. Fortunately, the wall of the studio was there to catch you. You press all your weight into the wall to remain balanced, taking a moment to enjoy the small accomplishment of standing.

As you remain there, you look into the reflection coming off of the tinted windows of the building. You finally see the full damage inflicted on you. Your head had blood trailing down from his initial blow, and it had made its way down your face. You wipe off as much of it as you can, leaving streaks of red behind as more slowly streamed downwards. Your throat also still had the remains of Val’s punch, the redness still prominently standing out. The arm the guard had injured wasn’t shaped right at the shoulder. If you had to guess, it was probably dislocated. You lift your shirt to see the marks that were hidden. Your chest had hideous shades of reds and purples from the beating, the bruises spreading all over your sides and your stomach. And lastly, your leg that had also been hit. It didn’t feel like it was broken, but walking was still anything but easy with the damage he did.

“…What a mess…” you comment, hearing just how hoarse your voice was. That’s all you can really say about yourself.

You were a mess.

You were…

_You were nothing._

You snap out of your self-pitying daze, feeling a sensation of eyes on you. You look around, but no one was there. Still, it felt like someone was looking at you. Maybe they were looking from a window, or behind a building? Or maybe someone was watching you from the shadows? It didn’t matter where they were, though. That feeling made you realize you had to keep this momentum going, not wanting to stick around and continue to be watched. You had gotten up, but now you had to move. It was off to the limo to find Charlie and Alastor.

You thought about waiting for Angel…

But you quickly decide against it.

He made his choice.

Now, you made yours.

You go on without him.

* * *

“Not you, Angel,” he hears Val call behind him. “I still need to have a word with you.”

Angel hesitantly stops in his tracks. Even though he wanted to help you, any sort of rebellion against Val’s orders wouldn’t have a good outcome. Plus, after just brutalizing you for his enjoyment, you might not even want him to be around you.

He stands there and watches your body being dragged away by the guards. He doesn’t say anything to you. He doesn’t know _what_ to say. So, he stays silent.

He beckons Angel over with his finger. “Come here.”

Angel listens, walking over to him. He stands in front of him, not looking him in the eyes. Val grabs Angel’s face with one of his hands and makes him meet his eyes.

“Now, Angel,” Val starts as he raises a hand. Angel panics in his head. Was he about to get beaten now that you weren’t there to stop him?! But he had done everything right, didn’t he?! Following his orders. Giving you the punishment. What did he do wrong?! Instinctively, he closes his eyes tight in fear, waiting for the inevitable smack to come…

…Only to soon feel soft strokes on the back of his head.

“I want you to know how proud of you I am.”

He looks up with confusion. “…Y-You are?” he hesitantly asks.

“Yes, I am. You weren’t fooled by their lies of caring about you,” he compliments. “You listened to me. And even though they were your ‘friend’ before, you didn’t fall for their act. Very impressive.”

As much as he hated to admit it, hearing that… made him feel better about what happened. Just having that little bit of support that he made the right choice. It helped Angel calm down a bit.

But even though he enjoyed the approval, he couldn’t help but realize a flaw in Val’s words. If you didn’t care about him, then why did you step in front of him when Val was going to hit him. And why would you stand up for him-

Oh yeah. Angel remembers the smack. Even though he was nervous about asking, he wanted to know why.

“Y…You almost smacked me earlier.”

He sighs. “I know. I shouldn’t have done that. Work’s just been so stressful, that’s all. After that extermination, I lost some great talent. I’ve been trying to figure out how to fix all of this shit now. But I shouldn’t have tried to it out on you. Well, at least that ‘friend’ of yours took the bullet,” he grins. “But still, could you ever forgive me for my earlier temper?”

“Of course, boss.”

“Thank you, Angel Cakes. It’s just… I’ve lost so many good workers recently. The thought of losing you too… I just couldn’t bear the thought.”

Even though the thought sounded nice, Angel didn’t fully believe it. “B…But weren’t you gonna let me go… if they took the deal?”

Valentino smirks. “Oh, come on, Angel. You didn’t think I’d actually give you up so easily, did you? I’m hurt how little you think I care about you. Did you already forget?”

He brings Angel’s face close to his lips.

“ _You’re mine,_ ” he whispers, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead. “I love you too much to let go.”

Angel feels chills at the contact. He was never used to Val being so delicate with him. Normally, whenever he showed his love, it was… much rougher than this. Sometimes, even painful.

No, it wasn’t just Val. Almost all his clients want it rough with Angel. Soft touches like this were so foreign to him. But this gentle affection he was giving- and the little admiration he spoke- it was so foreign to Angel. Something he’d always enjoyed receiving and always finding himself yearning for more.

He loved it.

He wanted more of it.

So, he loved the person that would give him more of it.

…He loved _him_ …

“I… I love you too, Mr. Valentino…”

“ _Good boy,_ ” Val coos at him, giving his head one last pet. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? You’ve done so much for me already. Run back to that hotel.”

“Y…You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Go on ahead, Angel.” He sets Angel down from his lap, letting his hand linger on Angel’s body for a few more seconds before bringing it back.

“T-Thank you, boss.”

“Anything for you, Angel Cakes.”

After stepping away from Val’s lap, he walks towards the door. As he leaves, he hears Val dial someone up on his phone. The phone rings a few times before Val speaks to the other person.

“Voxy, you won’t believe what just happened at my office today,” Val says with a chuckle, fondly recalling the show he just saw.

Angel gives one final wave to his boss before exiting the office, closing the door behind him. Once he’s out of the room, he notices something on the floor. Small red drops leading towards the exit. He immediately recognizes what those were.

It was a trail of your blood.

Angel hurriedly follows the trail, ignoring his co-workers that tried to converse with him. He bursts out of the front door, scoping out the area for any indication of which way you went. The drops had become smaller and smaller, meaning that at least your bleeding had stopped. Only a few stains on the floor showed which way you went until the trail had stopped. But those drops were enough to tell him where you were going. Probably going back to the limo, he figures. He takes off in the direction the two of you came from, praying that you were okay.

No, ‘okay’ wasn’t the right word. How could anyone be okay after what you just went through? Would you even want him to follow you? You probably hated him right now. Not that he could blame you. Hell, he hated himself a bit more for what he did.

But that wasn’t important. He had to make sure you would get there safely. It was the least he could do now.

He continues his pursuit, mentally preparing himself as to what he would say to you.

* * *

You’d walked about halfway to the limo so far, you figure.

It was hard to remember exactly where the limo was parked, but you did your best to retrace your steps.

Granted, stepping wasn’t easy for you now. But, somehow, you hadn’t fallen yet. Your balance was stable enough to carry you this long.

Some other demons had passed by you during your trek. Most didn’t seem to care. Some gave a brief cackle you didn’t care to acknowledge. One demon even “accidentally” bumped into you, nearly making you fall.

But through it all, you stay determined to get back to your friends. Surely, they would be able to help. Nothing was gonna stop you-

Until you feel a hand grab onto your good shoulder. “There ya are,” you hear behind you. And you know exactly whose voice that is.

His touch makes you panic, causing you to fall to the ground. You groan as your head hits the concrete, the collision leaving your already-damaged head sore. You rub the part you hit, checking to see if any more blood pooled out. Fortunately, you don’t find any new injuries, so you bring your attention back to him.

You see Angel watch you. He recognizes the fear in your eyes when you look at him. The alert readiness of another potential attack of some sort. He raises his hands to show he means no harm, but your face doesn’t change by his attempts to calm you.

“I… I know sayin’ ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t gonna mean shit now,” he starts, “but try to understand: you don’t wanna know what’d he do if I didn't obey. That was him in a decent mood. But still, I shouldn’t have been so rough on ya.”

You don’t answer him. Instead, you just stare back, anger starting to take over your mind.

He takes a step towards you. Subconsciously, you inch away from him.

He reaches one of his hands out to help you up. “Here, lemme-“

“Don’t touch me,” you coldly snap. You didn’t need his help. You’d gotten up once before, you can do it again.

He steps back, letting you help yourself. You lean your side against the wall as you use your good arm to push yourself up. It was a bit of a struggle, but you manage to maintain balance on your legs, using the wall as support.

He stays silent, unsure of how to carry on, so you take the opportunity to fill in the silence.

“'Listen to everything I tell you,’” you quote.

“Huh?”

“That’s what you said… before we met with Valentino… You remember that?” you hoarsely ask in between breaths.

“Y-Yeah, I remember.”

“I listened to you… I didn’t take the deal because… because you told me not to…” you recall. “…I listened to you… because I trusted you… and then you beat me half to death!” you exclaim as best as you could. “You had the chance… to let us walk away… but you chose to… _to hurt me… Why_ …?”

“I know! I know what I did was fucked up. But trust me, if I didn’t, Val would’ve-“

“Trust you?!” you shout. “I did trust you… and look what happened!” you motion down to your body. “Look at me… and tell me that… that I can trust you after you did _this_!”

You wait for him to say it.

And you wait…

And you wait…

And you wait…

Until finally.

“…Yeah. Yer right. You can’t trust me now.”

“That’s what I thought,” you say as you turn forwards. Before you do, however, he grabs your injured arm again. You step away. But this time, he doesn’t let up.

“Just lemme fix the arm. It’ll only get worse the longer we leave it like that.”

You want to ignore him. You really do. But unfortunately, he’s right. It’d be better to deal with the issue sooner and try to heal it now.

Begrudgingly, you let him grab your dislocated shoulder.

“I’ll be straight with ya. This is gonna hurt.”

‘Nothing new for you,’ you comment in your head.

He slightly presses your shoulder in. Gradually, he increases the pressure, the pain coming back to you. You wince as he continues to push harder and harder.

“I know, I know. But we’re almost done,” he tries to comfort.

You don’t respond, too focused on the feeling in your arm. After a bit more pressure, you let out a shout of pain, tears starting to form in your eyes.

Finally, he quickly pushes your shoulder in, and the bone snaps back into the socket. You scream as the feeling of your bone reconnecting burns your body. The tears don’t stop, clouding your view as you suffer through the pain.

Soon enough, the agony in your arm calms down. It still hurt, but your shoulder didn’t feel deformed as it did before. You could move the arm better now, even if it still wasn’t completely healed. You hold your left arm close to your chest as if it were in a cast, not wanting to risk further damaging it.

“There. You feelin’ okay?” he asks.

You don’t acknowledge his question. Even though he set the arm back in place, that didn’t absolve him of the damage he put you through. Instead, you go back to what you were originally doing before he interrupted.

“Charlie’s… probably waiting for us,” you tell him, turning away to keep walking.

Angel silently follows behind, keeping a good distance away from you. Even though you were still worried about him being around you, you’re glad he at least respected that you didn’t want him close to you. He matches your pace, despite how slow it is. You know he could easily rush ahead of you, but, for whatever reason, he stays behind.

The rest of the trek is uneventful. A few demons here and there, eyeing the two of you as you walk. But at this point, you don’t care. They can stare all they want. As long as they didn’t bother you, it was fine.

Finally, you see the limo parked where you all left it. Next to the limo stood Alastor and Charlie, both having been done with their meetings. They looked like they were having a conversation, but whatever they were talking about was quickly abandoned as Alastor notices you coming closer to them. Charlie turns to look at what he was staring at, only to see your broken form.

“Oh… Oh god!” Charlie shouts as she rushes over to you. She carefully grabs onto you, being careful to avoid any spots that would hurt to touch. “W-What happened to you?!”

“…I-“

Before you can answer, you can’t stop yourself from coughing, a small amount of blood coming out as you hack away.

Alastor puts a hand on your shoulder, kneeling to be eye-level with you. “Are you alright, Marksman? You look as though you were involved in a bit of a scuffle while you were away.” He pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes away the blood that came from your mouth.

You decide now isn’t the best time to speak, so you just shake your head at them, signaling that you couldn’t talk about it right now.

Realizing she wasn’t going to get an answer from you, Charlie turns to Angel. “Angel, what happened out there?! Why are they bleeding so much?!”

Angel startles at being called on. “Well, y’see, we… uh…”

“Is there something wrong, Angel?” Alastor pipes in. “You seem to be a bit disturbed.”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Just… shocked about everything.”

Alastor presses him more. “Are you certain? You don’t appear very frazzled about the state our friend is in.”

“'Course I am! How could I not be after seein’ that?!”

“I wonder that myself,” Alastor comments. “If anything, I’d say you look more… _guilty_ than anything else.”

Angel’s eyes go wide hearing that, knowing that Alastor had so easily read him.

“Wait, ‘guilty’? You’re not saying Angel had something to do with it, are you?” Charlie asks.

“It’s just my speculation. Don’t you think It’s odd that he wasn’t assisting them when they were walking? Why do you think that would be?”

“That’s… that’s a really good question,” Charlie agrees. “Why wouldn’t you help them… unless you weren’t the reason they were like this?”

“…Uh, well I…”

“Angel, I…” Charlie is left shocked by this realization. “I’m sorry, but, if you really did this to them, then there’s no way I can let you stay at the hotel.”

“Huh?! W-What do ya mean?!”

“I’m not gonna keep someone around that’s a danger to my team. I can’t let you stay you’re responsible for hurting me or my staff,” she scolds. “So just tell me what happened when you went to see Valentino.”

“…I…” Angel clams up, unsure of what to say next. You admit you were surprised he didn’t just bold-faced lie to them and tell them he didn’t do this to you. Or maybe he thought you would just expose him if he did. Still, you’re glad he didn’t deny it.

“Well, if you don’t wish to explain the situation, then there is only one other person who would know for certain, isn’t there?” Alastor notes. Unsurprisingly, his eyes are directed straight at the only other person who knew the truth:

You.

You figured you would be the one who had to tell them what went down. You were just hoping to be able to wait until you were feeling better. But this was a situation that needed to be dealt with now.

Charlie turns to you, looking at you with worried eyes. “Archer, please tell me the truth. Did Angel have anything to do with this?” she asks.

The truth was simple: Angel did this. He chose to hurt you when he had the chance to walk away. He’s the reason you can hardly walk now. It was his fault. If you told her that, Angel would receive a fair punishment that wouldn’t get anyone hurt. Telling the truth would is the best outcome for everyone.

You should tell her that, right?

…Or, maybe you shouldn’t…?

If she was being serious, Angel would be out of the hotel. The Happy Hotel would lose its one and only client, and they’d be starting from square one. It was hard enough getting even one other person to join, so losing the only client she had because of this…

Should you let that happen?

But even if you did keep quiet about Angel’s involvement, what would you say then? She wasn’t gonna just drop it, so someone needed to take the blame?

…So, maybe Valentino?

You could lie and tell her that he was the one that punished you. Angel would be allowed to stay, but he would get away scot-free for hurting you. Why should he, though? Doesn’t he deserve some sort of consequence for what he did?!

Before you let yourself get too set on one option, you clear your mind, weighing over the merits of each choice one last time.

If you told the truth, Angel would take the blame he deserves. You would get the justice you deserve. He would take the punishment he deserves. But the issue is that the punishment would be being kicked out of the hotel. Looking at the long-run, was losing him worth it for this incident? Was taking away his chance at redemption really the right thing to do because of this?

If you lied and put the blame on Valentino, Angel would get to stay at the hotel. He’d be allowed to continue working towards redemption and help bring in people to the hotel. The issue with this is that Angel wouldn’t face any consequences for what he did to you. Was that fair to you? Could you really let him get away with hurting you so badly?

Again, Angel’s fate rested in your hands. Only this time, you felt like you knew everything that was at stake here.

The next words you say would determine Angel’s fate. You inhale, preparing to answer the question you’ve asked yourself:

**Who do you blame?**

  * **Confess the truth (“Angel did this to me.”)**
  * **Conceal the truth (“Valentino did this to me.”)**



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Make your choice.](https://www.strawpoll.me/21269663)  
> Voting ends December 4th.
> 
> Because you turned down the deal:
> 
> Angel was spared from punishment...  
> ...But you took his place  
> Angel went through with the punishment instead of walking away  
> Alastor watched you get beaten by Angel  
> Charlie was very concerned for you and felt guilty for letting you get hurt  
> Charlie threatened to kick Angel out for hurting you
> 
> Oof, that was a rough one, wasn't it? But... I've really been wanting to post this chapter for a long time. From what I saw, no one in the comments saw Val's twist coming, so I don't think it was spoiled too soon lol. 
> 
> Don't forget, everything that happens isn't from your perspective, but more so, 'your' perspective. As in, what you feel in the moment during the story and not from an outsider's view. Because I'm sure there's one part you might disagree with but 'you' see as true.
> 
> Also, disclaimer: the way the dislocated shoulder in this chapter was fixed is not actually how you fix a shoulder! I just wanna make it clear you don't just force it back into place like that! That was just for the sake of the story. Please don't actually try it the Angel Way (TM) if you do have to pop a shoulder into place.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this much darker, angstier chapter. I know it was a long time coming, but I hope it was worth the wait.
> 
> As usual, thank you for reading! Stay safe, and have a good day!


	10. Who's to Blame?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You blame someone for the incident. You ride back in the limo and return to the hotel to finally get some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You chose to blame Valentino.

Angel was the one who did this to you.

He had the chance to walk away. But he didn’t. He took swing after swing at you, leaving you a broken mess on the floor. When you tried to stand up for him, he was the one who knocked you down. He’s the reason you’re in so much pain.

He did this to you. That was the whole truth…

…So, why were you so hesitant to say that?

Why were you actually considering lying on his behalf after what he did to you? To lie to Charlie for the one who hurt you so bad? Why would you protect him like that?

But you did find a reason. This lie wasn’t to protect Angel: it was to help Charlie.

Charlie had worked so hard on this whole thing. And Angel, her only client, would be gone if you told her what really happened. You didn’t know how hers and Alastor’s conversations went with the other Overlords, but if they didn’t get anyone, Angel was still the only person she had. She needed him to stay at the hotel. Letting her kick him out now would only make things worse for her in the long-run.

So, as much as you’d want Angel to face justice for what he did, now wasn’t the time for that. You had to look at the bigger picture here.

You sigh as you decide what to do.

You’d cover for him.

“Valentino did this to me,” you answer.

Your answer seems to surprise all 3 of them. Angel, in particular, had his mouth agape, stunned that you didn’t say his name.

“W-what?!” Charlie asks.

You explain the best you could. “We tried to… get his help… But he said he w…wouldn’t unless… unless I made a deal with him.”

“What were the terms of his deal?” Alastor asks.

“He wanted me… to be his slave, basically… Do whatever he’d want me to do… and if I did, he’d help the hotel.”

“R-Really? He tried to make a deal with you? But you… you said ‘no’, right?” she worriedly questions.

“Of course, I…I turned it down… and then…” you keep it vague. “…this was his punishment… for wasting his time…”

“That’s… That’s horrible. I’m so sorry: I shouldn’t have-“

“Are you certain?” Alastor speaks up.

“Certain… about what?”

“Angel’s lack of involvement with your current state. You’re certain he had nothing to do with it?”

You hesitate before avoiding the question. “You… don’t believe me?” you ask in an attempt to not have to lie further. To be fair, he was right not to believe you, but still, you didn’t want to answer.

“I just find it hard to believe that he was merely a bystander to this predicament. But if you say Angel had nothing to do with your current status, I will believe you. After all, for what reason would you have to lie about this?” He gives you a certain look, one you couldn’t tell the meaning of. Almost like he expected you to blame Angel.

You thought Alastor was acting weird. Well, not that he isn’t normally weird, but for some reason, he’s being insistent about if Angel hurt you or not. Maybe he could tell you weren’t being honest and wanted you to say the truth. Or maybe he just wanted an excuse to hurt Angel for some reason?

Regardless of his motives, you couldn’t take back what you said now.

You keep lying.

“No,” you answer firmly. “Angel had nothing to do with this-“

As soon as the words leave your mouth, a searing pain arises in your chest. Your relocated arm clutches it tightly as you fall to your knees, using your good arm to stop the rest of your body from hitting the concrete.

“Archer!” Charlie yells. “A-Are you okay?!”

Something in your chest was burning. You weren’t sure what, but something inside of you was in pure agony. Another tear fell from your eye as you endure this sudden feeling. As quick as it came, however, it soon left, only leaving a tingling sensation as a reminder of the pain.

“I don’t… I don’t know what that was… Something inside just… started hurting suddenly.”

“It’s-It’s probably just some reaction from being attacked so badly. The pain might’ve just come back suddenly?” Charlie suggests as she cautiously grabs your arm to help you stand.

You didn’t think it was from Angel’s beating. It wasn’t the same type of pain like that. This felt… more internal? Which was weird, since you’re fairly sure several body parts inside of you were damaged from the earlier incident. The other weird part of this was that this sensation lingered longer. Sure, most of the damage from Angel’s attack still hurt, but with this, the sensation of the pain remained. You didn’t think it was from the beating, but you didn’t have a better idea as to what it could be, so you agree for now. “I… I guess so.”

“Disregarding that, I will trust your words about this incident,” Alastor says. “I suppose it wasn’t too surprising for Valentino to carry this out. He’s an undignified cretin that thinks too highly of himself. To harm such an innocent, gentle soul as yourself…” His lips drop slightly, straining them to keep his smile up, “…it’s absolutely sickening, wouldn’t you say?”

Why did Alastor look so different all of a sudden? The smile he held- it wasn’t his usual bright smile he always wore. It was even worse than when he threatened you when you first met. Even though it wasn’t directed at you, it was unsettling to see him look… you guessed he looked mad? But still, kept a smile on his face despite his anger?

Charlie, on the other hand, had no issue showing her true emotions here. “I…I never should’ve let you go see him. If I had known he would do something like this, I never would’ve let this happen…”

“No, don’t blame yourself,” you tell her. “It was… it was my idea… to ask the Overlords… This is… it’s my fault… I should’ve listened to you… should’ve been less reckless, I guess…”

“That’s not true. Even if it was your idea, you only suggested it because you were trying to help. And yeah, the reason I told you to be careful wasn’t to scold you,” she explains. “It’s because you’re one of my employees. And one of my friends. I’m still responsible for making sure you and everyone else stay safe. So… it’s my fault you got hurt.”

You hated making her feel guilty. She genuinely cared about you, and seeing her so sad because of the state you were in… broke your heart. “…Charlie… it’s not your fault… You didn’t do this to me… Don’t… don’t shoulder the burden all on your own.”

Before you can continue to comfort her, Alastor interrupts. “Why don’t we go back to the hotel? Our dear Marksman here needs to rest.”

Charlie nods in agreement, clearing her eyes as she looks at him. “You’re right. Staying out here any longer won’t help. Let’s all head back now.” Charlie wraps your arm around her to carry you to the limo. Alastor opens the door for you and helps you get inside. Bending over to fit in hurt, but you managed to get inside with relative ease. The others climb in after you, and Charlie instructs the driver to go to the hotel. The limo starts moving, and you get one last glance of Pentagram City as you leave.

The ride back is mostly quiet. The loudest one in the car is you as your labored breaths break the silence. No one was in the mood to make small talk right now. And you were fine with that. You weren’t exactly in a talkative mood right now, especially since breathing was hard enough as it was.

All you wanted to do now was get some rest. It wouldn’t be too hard to get a quick nap in. You felt as though the limo seats were a lot more comfortable now than before. The lure of getting some rest was strong, and it was getting harder and harder to stay up.

Maybe just a few minutes of sleep wouldn’t hurt.

Your eyes slowly shut, finally letting your body-

“Hey!” Charlie shakes you awake.

“W-What…?” you say, still frazzled from being woken up.

“I don’t think you should be sleeping right now,” she suggests. “We don’t know how serious the injuries are. You might not wake back up if you’re too weak.”

“But I’m just… so tired,” you try to justify.

“I’m sure you are. But still, it’s not safe for you to sleep just yet. Once we get to the hotel, we’ll try and fix you up, then you can rest, okay?”

“Well… you’re gonna have to help… keep me awake, then, ” you tell her.

“Okay, let’s do that. Why don’t we just chat until we get there? That’ll keep you awake.”

Even though talking wasn’t as easy for you as you’d like, you figured it’d be the best way to keep yourself awake for now. “Sure, I can do that.”

“Great. So, tell me about your life. Just anything you feel comfortable sharing.”

You think a moment about what you want to tell them. Talking about your life before going to Heaven probably wouldn’t reveal too much about your identity, so you don’t see the harm in opening up about it. “Well, uh… before I died, I was… I was going to college full time. Just trying to… get by in life and get… a good career for myself.”

“That’s good! Preparing yourself for success in life is always a smart idea. How did it go?”

“I’d like to say it went well… but it was hard to be in school… when I was so far away from my family… My mom and my dad had it hard, too after… my sister wasn’t around anymore.”

“What happened to your sister?” she asks.

“She died… a few years before I did.”

“Oh,” she sadly says, “I’m sorry for asking.”

“Don’t be… You didn’t know… I’m just glad to know that… she made it to Heaven. She deserves to have a peaceful afterlife. But yeah… I can’t imagine what my parents are going through… both of their children dying. How does anyone-“

“Why are you so certain she made it to Heaven?” Alastor asks abruptly.

“H-Huh?”

“I don’t know her at all, but it’s entirely possible she may have been a sinner without you even knowing. She could have easily fallen here, but you seem confident that she isn’t.”

Your eyes widen as you realize your mistake. How would you even be able to explain to them that you saw her in Heaven?! That’d give you away instantly!

Instead, you try and dodge the question, attempting to put the heat on him. “Are you saying… my sister’s a bad person? …Even though you don’t know anything about her…”

“Not at all. But I’ve been in Hell for quite some time. I’ve seen plenty of sinners so confident their loved ones were in Heaven- only to later find that they had also found their way here, instead. I’ve no knowledge of her, but I’ve seen cases similar to yours. Putting too much belief in things like that may only come back to hurt you later.”

Was this… his way of saying “don’t get your hopes up?” But it didn’t sound as pessimistic as someone would normally say it. It… sounded like genuine advice. Even though you knew he was wrong, it was… kind of refreshing to get advice like that. Well, whatever the case, it didn’t seem like you alerted suspicion about being an angel- you just seemed like another person hoping their family is safe.

Still, you couldn’t let him talk that way about her. “Well, I… I’m sure she made it to Heaven. Knowing her, there’s no way she’d be in Hell… She was too good to end up here…”

“I hope for both of your sakes that you’re correct. Although, even then, there is a downside to that outcome.”

“What’s that?” you ask.

“Knowing you’ll never see her again,” he says. “If you are right, then you must accept the fact that your paths will never again cross. Is that something you’ll be able to accept?”

‘If only he knew the truth,’ you thought. Fortunately, though, he still seems oblivious to your identity. At least, he didn’t give any indication that he knew.

You could have just gone along and agreed with him about that- about never seeing your sister in the afterlife. And although it probably would be smarted to keep your mouth shut, something in the back of your mind just wouldn’t let you. Part of it might just be finding enjoyment in knowing something that he doesn’t. It might also just be that you didn’t even want to consider the possibility that you wouldn’t see her. Even though you’ve already met with her, the thought of not coming back…

…You wouldn’t let that happen.

“You’re wrong, Alastor,” you curtly answer. “I know… I’ll see her again one day.”

“And why’s that?”

“Well, that’s what this hotel is for, isn’t it?” you tell him. “Once we prove that demons can be redeemed… then I’ll go to Heaven and be with her again.”

“It’s adorable how much you believe in this whole redemption process,” he remarks. “but let’s suppose it doesn’t work out. Will you finally accept that you’ll always be worlds apart?”

He was really pushing this, for some reason. Why did he care so much that you’d accept this? Well, whatever his reasoning, you chose to remain steadfast with your point.

“No, I won’t,” you curtly say. “Because I… I promised her… I promised that we’d be together again. For years, I was heartbroken after she died… And although it’s hard, being so far from her… I’ll get to Heaven… Because I intend to keep that promise I made…”

Without a rebuttal, he simply says with a widening grin, “How admirable of you.”

The conversation had finally reached its end. Without anymore pushing from Alastor, you didn’t have any other points you could think of to talk about.

Charlie takes it upon herself to keep some form of conversation going. “Hey, Angel?”

He speaks up for the first time since you had all regathered. “…What?”

“I shouldn’t have blamed you for hurting Archer. It was… it was stupid to just assume that without hearing anything about it.”

Angel looks away from her. “I-It’s fine. Don’t worry ‘bout it-“

“No, it’s not fine!” Charlie interjects. “I was just so panicked when I saw them like that, and I just looked for someone to blame as soon as I could. But it wasn’t right to think you did it.”

“…I said it’s fine, princess. Just drop it alre-“

She continues. “And then I… I threatened to kick you out because of it! When all this time, I talk about not giving up on demons. That just makes me a hypocrite, doesn’t it? You didn’t deserve to be treated like that, and I-“

“Stop!” he yells. “I… I don’t blame ya for thinkin’ I did it. I’d think so, too, if I were you. Don’t beat yerself up over it, alright?”

Before she can deny it again, you speak up. “You should listen to him, Charlie. It made sense to think he did it…” You make direct eye contact with Angel to make sure he understands. “I would’ve blamed him, too…”

Angel fixes his gaze away again. Apparently, he read the message loud and clear: If Charlie didn’t threaten to throw him out, you’d have told them the truth in a heartbeat.

But it was too late to think about that now. You’d chosen to cover for him, so you’d stick to it.

You just wanted to make sure he knew you didn’t forgive him yet.

You finally can see the hotel coming up. Notably, the sign still reads “Hazbin Hotel”. It seemed weird that they hadn’t fixed it yet. Did they not go outside at all since you left? Or maybe there were just bigger things to worry about inside the building.

“Guess they didn’t… read the sign…” you break the silence.

Charlie looks at the top of the building to read the sign. “Yeah, I guess not. Hopefully, we can get that fixed as soon as possible.”

“What issue do you have with the sign?” Alastor asks.

“Just look at it! Someone changed it from ‘Happy’ to ‘Hazbin’! Why would anyone do that?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, my dear. I was the one who altered the name,” he admits.

She’s left shocked at his confession. “W-What?! Why would you change it?! And to _that_ of all things.”

“I found it to be a much more fitting name. A hotel for those rejected from Heaven who’re looking for one final chance to reach it. I’d call those people ‘has-beens’, wouldn’t you?”

She groans in frustration. “Alastor, just change it back. I named it the “Happy Hotel”, and I’m not changing it, especially not to the name you gave it.”

“Hmm…” he takes a moment to pretend to ponder about it. “No. I don’t think I will.”

“Just forget about it, Charlie,” you say. “Knowing Alastor… even if you fixed it, he’d… probably just change it right back.”

“But I-“

“Marksman is right. I merely did what I thought was best for business! Think of it as a new beginning for the hotel. Obviously, the “Happy Hotel” wasn’t bringing people in, so perhaps reinventing it with a fresh name will be just what it needs!” he cheerfully says.

“W-Well, maybe, but could we at least talk about picking a different name? I don’t want a name that would insult the clients!”

“Why don’t we put a pin in that for now? We’ll talk more about it when we speak to the others. We’re nearly there, anyway,” he says, nodding his head towards the nearby hotel.

Not wanting to continue this losing battle, Charlie agrees. “Fine. We’ll talk about rebranding the place with everyone else. But first, we need to make sure Archer is taken care of.” She gives you a worried look.

“Yeah, I just wanna lie down now…” you weakly tell them.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have time to rest soon. Just keep awake for a bit longer, alright?”

“…I’ll do my best.”

The limo pulls up to the building. Once it’s parked, Charlie opens the door and climbs out. Angel follows her, but Alastor remains inside with you.

“I’ll take our injured friend,” Alastor offers. “You two run along and tell the others.”

“Okay. Let’s go, Angel,” Charlie beckons. Angel gives you one final glance as he takes his leave with her without saying a word.

Alastor steps out of the limo before offering a hand to help you. “Come along, dear.”

“No,” you tell him. “Let me do it myself.” Even though it was painful to move, you didn’t want to be so dependent on everyone else. Even in your case, you could do something as simple as getting out of a car on your own, right?

Plus, even with all his talk about trust, you couldn’t say you’d trust him yet.

“My dear, I don’t believe you’re-“

“Just let me try… please…”

He hesitates a moment before stepping away from the door, allowing you a chance to leave the vehicle yourself.

You step out of the limo, holding onto the top of the roof to keep yourself supported. It didn’t hurt too bad to move your body now, just a bit of pain from putting too much pressure on one leg. Once you’re fully out, you keep hold of the vehicle as you prepare to walk towards the entrance.

‘It’s not too far,’ you tell yourself. ‘You can make that.’

You let go of the limo. For the first time, you’re standing on your own. No one to hold onto, no wall to keep yourself stable. You’re actually standing by yourself.

…That is until you take your first step.

Even though your legs were able to keep you standing still, they were still too damaged to keep yourself supported when you moved. As such, the first step was enough to bring you crashing to the ground again…

Well, nearly.

Fortunately, enough, Alastor caught you before you made collided into the road.

“Now, I’ve never been the type to say, ‘I told you so,’” he starts, “but I did advise against attempting this yourself, didn’t I?” he asks with a grin that you found way too smug.

You sigh in defeat. “Yeah. Yeah, you did.”

Without any good reason to argue against his help, you lean your body against him, allowing him to lead you to the door. You don’t speak again, instead, just trying to get inside as soon as possible to finally get some rest. You moved slowly, but Alastor wasn’t as patient as Angel was, insistently pulling you faster than you could move. You didn’t think he’d slow down if you asked, so you did your best to match his speed.

You make it to the front doors, which had finally been put back into place. At least they managed to get some repairs done. But… weirdly enough, they didn’t fix the window that was broken last night.

And even stranger, it wasn’t the only shattered window anymore. The surrounding windows were also destroyed for some reason. You were mostly confused by this, but also a bit worried about what might have happened in there.

Alastor opens the door for you, and when you see inside, the worry you felt becomes panic.

The inside of the building was a mess. The sofas in the lounge had several holes in them, stuffing scattered around the scene. At Husk’s bar, several bottles had been shattered, leaving behind lots of broken glass.

But most notable wasn’t what stained the walls. It was the fact that there were _two bodies_ lying there in the lobby, pools of blood leaking out of them. You didn’t recognize them, but that didn’t lessen the shock of the situation at all. You stare, horrified at their expressions. Their eyes and mouths were agape, showing the pain they felt as they died. You feel sick looking at them, hiding your face into Alastor’s shirt to avoid seeing them.

But once the initial shock of seeing the corpses wore off, a worrying question popped into your mind:

_Where were Vaggie, Niffty, and Husk?_

“Where… where is everyone?” you ask aloud.

“It seems they were all involved in a bit of a scuffle while we were away,” Alastor answers. “What a shame I wasn’t here to enjoy it!”

“Now is… _really_ not the time,” you scold. “We… we have to find them.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather get some rest? You’ve had quite the day as it is.”

“I’m fine. This… is more important…”

Alastor doesn’t retort, instead of moving with you by his side to look for the others.

Suddenly, the door to the dining room slowly opens, along with the sound of dragging and someone grunting. You see Niffty walk out of the room, pulling something along with her.

“Niffty!” you call out, relieved to see that she was alive.

She looks at you with a smile, dropping whatever she was dragging behind her and rushing over to you. She wraps her arms around your waist again, but this time it hurts even more because of your condition.

“You’re back!” she excitedly says. “I’m so glad you’re safe! You should’ve seen what happened here! This group of people just came in and tried to kill us, so we had to fight back. It was so crazy!”

“Niffty… let go, please…” you wince out. She steps away, only now realizing how injured you were.

“Oh no! What happened to you?! Are you alright?!”

“Yeah… yeah, I’m okay. But what about… Vaggie and Husk… Are they…?”

“They’re fine. Well, I wouldn’t say fine. They did get hurt a bit, but they’re alive. They’re in the dining room right now if you want to talk to them.”

“…Okay, thanks.”

“No problem. Now, I need to get back to cleaning up. After that, I’ll try and clean up some of your injuries.” You give her a smile and a not as she rushes back to whatever she was carrying,

But when she pulls it out…

You feel like you might faint.

It’s a _third body_.

A third corpse that’s leaving behind a trail of blood as it’s dragged. The same expression of pain that the other two bodies had.

And Niffty is just dragging it out like it’s nothing. Like it was something she was used to doing.

Seeing one of your friends so casually handle a carcass just wasn’t right. You never expected anyone, least of all Niffty, to be doing something like that so naturally. You knew she was a demon, but still, no one should so casually carry around a body.

It was unsettling, to say the least.

Niffty walks past the two of you, carrying the body out the front door and letting it close behind her. Refocusing yourself after seeing her do that, you walk ahead, aiming for the dining room where the others were. Alastor joins you, opening the door for you, letting you witness the second part of the crime scene.

The dining room was also left ruined. Tables were flipped over, again, covered in holes. The most notable destruction, however, was the once beautiful chandelier that was now broken on the floor. And trapped underneath the ornament was a demon you’d never seen before.

At one of the undamaged tables, you see that Charlie and Angel had beaten the two of you there. They were seated next to Vaggie, who had a first-aid kit sitting in front of her and an agitated Husk. She wraps some gauze around his arm, covering up some wounds. Getting a good look at Husk, you see his body covered in several nicks here and there, small amounts of blood staining his fur. But the worst damage was done to his wings. In a few spots of each wing, there were decent-sized holes that you could clearly see through.

He winces as Vaggie wraps him up. “Do you gotta make it so fuckin’ tight?!”

“Do you want it to keep bleeding?” Vaggie retorts.

“Shh, yer doin’ great, Huskie,” Angel comforts. “Just don’ stress too much.”

He groans at his comment. “Shut the fuck up,” Husk says, not finding comfort from Angel’s words.

Once Husk was properly bandaged up, Charlie speaks up, “Vaggie, why are you guys so hurt? And who is this guy?” she asks pointing to the demon trapped under the chandelier.

“He’s one of the shitheads that came and tried to kill us,” she responded.

“W-What?!”

“There were five of them. We took out four of them, one got away. We got a few hits from the fight, too.” She shows off her arm, which you hadn’t noticed was wrapped in bandage like Husk’s wings. It seemed she was shot a few times, too.

“Who… who was it?!” Charlie panickily asks. “Who did this to you?”

“I don’t know. They all looked like just some average demons. No one that we recognized, at least.”

While Charlie continues to push Vaggie for more information, you and Alastor walk to join the group. Husk is the first to notice you. “Fuck, kid, you look like shit,” Husk bluntly comments.

“…Yeah…”

Curious as to what he was reacting to, she turns your way. Her expression shifts from aggravated to concerned at the sight of you. “Jesus Christ! What happened out there?!”

“I just… messed with the wrong Overlord…” you answer.

Upon hearing your answer, she immediately raises her spear, pointing the sharpened end to Alastor. “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted you! Why did you-“

“Not him,” you correct. “It was Valentino…”

She lowers her spear. “Wait, why did you go see Valentino?”

Charlie summarizes what happened to her. “We all went to see different Overlords to try and get their help. Archer went with Angel to see Valentino, I saw Velvet, Alastor saw Vox.”

“Okay, but why…” she stops. “You know what? That’s not important right now. We need to take care of you. Come on, I’ll take you up to your room.” She offers her hand for you to take. Before you do, Alastor pulls you back rougher than you would’ve liked.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll take our friend upstairs,” he says.

Vaggie refuses his offer. “Uh-uh. No way am I leaving you alone with them! I don’t care if you didn’t do this, I still don’t trust you.”

“My dear, I don’t believe that’s your decision to make.”

“Now’s not the time for you to be fighting about this!” Charlie chimes in. “This is all pointless to argue about. It doesn’t matter who does it: just get them resting, okay?”

Vaggie gives a guilty look at being called out for her argument. While Alastor keeps his signature smile on, it’s noticeably not as wide as it normally is. Before either has a chance to say anything, though, the dining room door suddenly swings open, and in rushes Niffty carrying a box in her hands. You assume it’s some sort of first-aid kit. She hurries over to you, stealing you from Alastor’s grasp and guiding you to a nearby chair. “Here, let me fix you up.” She stands on your legs to examine the gash in your head, taking a rag and cleaning up the dried blood stuck in your hair. Once the area had been cleaned well enough, she begins rummaging through her box for the right supplies.

“You know how to stitch a wound?” you ask her.

She pulls out a needle and thread from the box. “Well, I’ve never actually sewn a person before- just clothes. But they can’t be too different, right?”

That answer… didn’t give you much confidence in her. “I, uh… I think they’re a lot different, actually.”

“You’re just gonna make it worse that way,” Husk surprisingly speaks up out of nowhere. He stands up, groaning from his injuries as he starts walking towards you. He pushes Niffty out of the way to get a better look at the wound. “That fucker really got you good, huh?”

“Yeah… he sure did.” You notice Angel out of the corner of your eye shrink away.

“I can get that patched up for ya. Just gotta clean it up. And not just with a rag and some water,” he says looking at Niffty.

“Well, sorry! I was just trying to help!” Niffty huffs.

“I-It’s fine, Niffty. Thanks,” you tell her. “So uh, Husk, do you… know how to do first-aid?”

“Eh, just the basic stuff. I had to stitch myself up a few times on the battlefields. It was always a bitch to do, but either that or let it get infected.”

“I could imagine…” you say. “But can I ask… why you’re helping me? I thought after… last night I thought… I thought you hated me…”

He looks down at you, letting out a sigh as he finds the words. “I don’t… I don’t hate ya, alright? I just don’t like people tellin’ me how to live my life. But uh… I might’ve been too harsh on you then. So, I’ll fix you up, and we’ll call it even, alright?”

This was probably his way of saying “sorry”, even though he never actually apologized. But still, this was his own way of wanting to make things right. Even if you weren’t sure you could forgive him so soon, you figure you should at least give him the chance to try to help. You nod and tell him, “Sounds good.” Without another word, he goes off into the kitchen to look for materials, his movements slower than normal due to his inflicted injuries.

“While he takes care of them, let’s think about what we should do now,” Vaggie suggests.

“I mean, the only thing we can do now is let you all rest up. We can’t do much while you’re all still healing.”

“I’m fine,” Vaggie claims. “The shots didn’t hurt me too badly. I don’t need to stay in bed.”

“Well, what would you suggest we do?”

“We need to go out there and find the guy that got away,” she says. “Someone out there wanted to kill us, and chances are they’ll come back to try again, probably with more people. We need to figure out who they were and why they did it.”

Charlie immediately refuses. “Uh-uh! No way am I letting you go hunt the person that tried to kill you! You, Husk, and Archer need time to rest up before even thinking about looking for them!”

“Like I said, I’m fine. You’re right about those two, but I’m not just gonna sit around while someone out there plans on how to make sure we die.”

“And like I said, I’m not letting you or anyone else go hunting for that person. They might have been scared off from seeing their partners die and won’t have anyone to come back with. And plus, how would you even find the guy? He might be on the other side of Hell for all we know.”

“That’s exactly why I need to start searching now! Before they get away so far that we can’t find them. Think about it: these are probably the people who wrote that note. If we can find the guy, we can find out what they meant and what they had planned.”

“That doesn’t matter right now! What matters most is the safety of you and everyone else here, and I’m not risking you getting even more hurt than you already are!” she confidently says.

The two girls go back and forth, giving their reasons to go looking for the mysterious attacker. Who was the demon that attacked those? What was their motive for attacking the hotel? Would they come back even stronger or not come back at all? So many questions that would remain unanswered if nothing was done.

Vaggie was understandably angry at the person who tried to take her life and wanted answers for why they did it. But how would she even find the demon anyways? Hell was anything but small, and there were plenty of places the attacker could be hiding. Plus, she might just be putting herself in more danger and risk death once again in pursuit of them. Was that risk be worth finding the attacker?

Charlie understandably wanted to avoid her best friend risking her life. She said it before that she didn’t want anyone getting hurt because of her, and after your meeting with Valentino and the first attack on the hotel, she’s most likely more paranoid of losing those close to her than ever before. But even so, the fact is that someone tried to take out the hotel and its staff. Although four of them are gone, one still got away. That one could shed light on a lot of the mysteries surrounding that attack and the note. Should that information be so easily given up?

Both Vaggie and Charlie had fair cases with decent reasoning. But still, neither side would budge so easily. At least, not without some outside input. So, that left the question:

**Who do you agree…?**

**…Who do…you…?**

You feel extremely dizzy out of nowhere. As you sit there, you feel like the world is shaking, leaving you unable to remain balanced.

“…Who…” you mutter as you fall out of your seat.

You collapse on the ground, all your remaining energy spent leaving you feeling too fatigued to stay awake.

Your eyes start closing, making your vision hazy. You hear them speak, but you can’t make out what they’re saying. You feel them touch you, shaking you to keep you conscious. It doesn’t last for long, though. Soon enough, your eyes fully close, and you can’t find the strength to reopen them. Try as you may fighting it, exhaustion overtakes you.

Whatever they were arguing about didn’t matter now. Whether or not to look for whoever did this or to rest up: the answer was already made.

Because in your current condition…

**You couldn’t make a choice.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No choice available this time!
> 
> Because you blamed Valentino:  
> Angel wasn't kicked out  
> Angel was left shocked that you covered for him  
> Alastor knew you lied... but didn't say anything  
> You felt an unusually strong pain  
> Charlie felt guilt-ridden for initially blaming Angel
> 
> Heya. It's been a minute, hasn't it?
> 
> I know I said that I was gonna spend more time writing over winter break, but life decided to hit hard in December, and it left me in a funk for a while. I got out of the rut a little bit ago, and now I'm getting back into the swing of this whole writing thing again. I'm sorry I made you wait so long for this one, especially since there isn't a choice to be made, and I'm sorry I made some of you think this was abandoned. I just needed some time for myself, and it helped get my passion back.
> 
> But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Honestly, it was a little hard to write since I didn't have a clear plan for this part, which was also another factor as to why it took so long, but nonetheless, I liked this one. And I hope you did too!
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Stay safe, and have a good day!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is gonna be a... unique journey for me! I want to try and update once or twice a week. I plan to have a choice at the end of each chapter so that people can vote on how they want the story to play out. Think of it like a Telltale game meets a bad Hazbin Hotel fanfiction! What could go wrong, right?
> 
> Find me on Tumbles [ here!](https://justice4all77.tumblr.com/)


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